“Awake Tourism Challenge”, UNWTO is looking for 12 innovative and sustainable startups to be awarded

The awakening of tourism passes through new challenges. So, the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) has decided to launch a competition for startups called “Awake Tourism Challenge”. The idea is to identify innovators capable of proposing solutions to 6 different challenges, as well as contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 6 specific areas where tourism development can be disruptive are:

• Community involvement: 80% of people living in ‘extreme poverty’ live in rural communities while domestic, rural, and eco-tourism have emerged as the most popular travel choices.
• Green and blue economies: Tourism can be a source of economic opportunities and at the same time protect natural ecosystems.
• Ecological and Sustainable Capital Creation: sustainable capital has the potential to optimize resource usage, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a competitive advantage for businesses.
• Tourism Tech for Good: advancements in technology have revolutionized the sector, especially since the start of the pandemic. Artificial Intelligence, crypto, block chain, metaverse, NFTs are welcome in this category.
• Tourism Education: despite representing 10% of the world’s jobs, there is a need for updated data, and new tools for education and skills development.
• Women Empowerment: women tend to be concentrated in the lowest paid and lowest status jobs in tourism. Startups with a gender focus can be an important contributor to equality.

“The return of tourism is a chance to awaken its potential to transform lives,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashviki. “UNWTO is calling on startups everywhere to put forward their ideas for meeting the biggest challenges our sector is facing and for making tourism a champion of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Startups are invited to participate provided that they:

• Apply to 1 of the 6 challenges
• Include 1 or more SDGs
• Are innovative in nature and provide value-added solutions
• Are sustainability-driven
• Are scalable, with potential for international growth and potential to be applied in corporations and destinations (countries, regions)
• Are an Early Stage or Series A startups
• Have a tested pilot and business plan
• Have been accelerated before
• Have a full-time team already in place

The 12 most interesting startups (2 for each challenge) will receive support for the scale-up. UNWTO will present the best ideas to its member States, affiliates, and investors, thus offering a unique networking opportunity. Additional benefits include the ability to attend a special UNWTO Demo Day, access to technology support and UNWTO Innovation network, as well as a mentorship program that includes individual and group training sessions on key topics such as intellectual property, sustainability in business and leadership, possible seed funding for female startup founders offered by Ankh Impact Ventures, and incubation for 3 months at the SPARK Innovation Lab.

Applications will be collected until June 30, while the winning startups will be announced in October. To find out more and to apply, just visit the UNWTO Awake Tourism Challenge web page.