UNWTO Announces Winning Start-Ups for “Awake Tourism Challenge”

• All Regions
• 31 Jan 2023

UNWTO has announced the winners of its Awake Tourism Challenge, celebrating the start-ups that are reshaping the sector in every global region.

The Challenge was the second edition of the UNWTO Global Startup Competition focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Entrants were judged on how they are contributing to the development of an inclusive, resilient and sustainable tourism sector, with a focus on six core themes:

• Local Community Involvement
• Green and Blue Economies
• Ecological and Sustainable Capital Creation
• Tourism Tech for Good
• Tourism Education
• Women Empowerment

UNWTO Seceratry-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Tourism startups have the power and agility to transform the sector in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The winners of the UNWTO Awake Tourism Challenge all have the potential to help build a more inclusive and resilient sector and we look forward to supporting them as they grow in size and influence.”

Tourism startups have the power and agility to transform the sector in line with the Sustainable Development Goals

Winners from every global region

The competition attracted more than 2,000 entrants from 120 countries worldwide. The most submissions were from Europe, the Americas and Africa, followed by Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East. From these, an expert jury selected 30 finalists and then 15 winners.

Reflecting the broad talent of the global tourism sector, the winning start-ups are Coastruction (the Netherlands), Noytrall (Portugal), SmArt Tourism and Hospitality Consulting (Panama), Quantum Temple (USA), Socialbnb (Germany), Instituto de Accesibilidad (Spain), Kamatjona (Namibia), Baahdy & Birdy (Norway), WeavAir (Singapore), r3charge (Germany), Impact Innovations Institute (Armenia), NomadHer (South Korea), Murmuration (France), Evelity by Okeenea Digital (France) and Accessible Qatar (Qatar). The projects were recognized for offering innovative service with high customer value, most notably with high levels of youth engagement and the involvement of local communities. Start-ups were also recognized for their use of technology to monitor and manage the environmental impact of tourism activity. More information on the winners and finalists can be found on the competition website.  

A winning network

The winning start-ups will be offered an incubation period of three months at SPARK Crans-Montana, the Innovation Hub of Les Roches from the Sommet Education group, where they will be participating in mentorships, networking activities and have access to a VR lab, Digital Studio, and a dedicated co-working space. In addition, they will also receive scholarships for the UNWTO Tourism Online Academy, be included in the UNWTO Catalogue of top innovators, be featured in a global communications campaign to showcase each winner and invited for mentorships with project partners.

The competition was organized in collaboration with Wakalua, the first global innovation hub for tourism, powered by Ávoris, and counted with great support from renowned tourism experts and partners, including; SPARK, the Innovation Hub of Les Roches from the Sommet Education group, Amadeus, IE University, NEST, KPMG, MasterCard, Telefonica, Wayra, ClarkeModet, The FarCo, BBVA, MentorDay, Finnova, Google for Startups, the Valley Digital Business School, the Future Food Institute and the Inter-American Development Bank and the Singapore Tourism Board.

Innovation as priority

In 2022, UNWTO celebrated five years of its Department of Innovation, Education, and invesment. In that time, UNWTO has made innovation one of its main priorities for the sector, holding 23 competitions and challenges, as well as holding nine Tourism Tech Adventures, and creating an innovation network of more than 11,500 stakeholders drawn from every part of the diverse sector.

Related links:

• Download the News Release in PDF
• UNWTO Awake Tourism Challenge
• UNWTO Tourism Startup Competitions

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UNWTO and Partners Advance Shared Accessibility Agenda for Tourism

• All Regions
• 25 Jan 2023

UNWTO, Fundación ONCE and the Spanish Association for Standardization UNE have advanced efforts to introduce a comprehensive international standard for accessibility across the whole of the tourism sector.

At a special session on Seminar on Tourism for All, held at the FITUR 2023 tourism trade fair in Madrid, the three organizations were joined by representatives of tourism administrations, destinations, companies and professional industry associations to put forward new tools geared towards the implementation of the standard UNE-ISO 21902 on Accessible Tourism, across the value chain. These tools include a new user-guide focused on accommodation, food & beverage and MICE companies, launched at FITUR. The guide will serve ,as a starting point for assessing their levels of accessibility, and for developing or adapting their services.

This new guide was produced in collaboration with leading civil society and industry organizations such as Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, International Circle of Hospitality Directors (CIDH), as well as the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT). It is a follow up to the guidelines published in December, focusing on public administrations; in case of the latter, the support of Turismo de Portugal and Turismo de Argentina was key in messaging governments and destinations, entrusted with tourism policies, strategies and marketing plans.

Accessibility for growth and resilience

At the seminar, Miguel Carballeda, President of the ONCE Social Group and Jose Manuel Huesa, Director of Servimedia, argued that there is no longer any excuse for any destination or leisure and tourism experience to be inaccessible to any tourist, regardless of their background or ability. UNWTO Executive Director, Zoritsa Urosevic, added that accessibility is key to achieving SDGs. It is also key to resilience, since it brings along new customers, improving the sector's economic performance. Javier García Diaz, Director General of UNE and Vice-President of ISO, concluded that accessibility standards should be taken as guidance tools in carrying out improvements, instead of obligatory sets of measures.

Also in Madrid, the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador introduced its new policies planning at this event, while the City Hall of Cordoba (Spain) shared new actions at a local destination level, benefitting local communities and visitors. RIU Hotel & Resorts and International Circle of Hospitality Directors tackled the most pressing challenging in applying standards and the myriad of opportunities that universal accessibility entails.  

The speakers proved once more why accessibility is a major social inclusion and business opportunity as tourism's recovery continues. UNWTO, its partners and new collaborating organizations remain committed to producing new policy guidance tools in the sphere of accessibility, throughout 2023, leading the change.

RELATED LINKS

• Download the News Release in PDF
• Tourism for All: How can tourism companies and destinations champion their accessibility agenda?
• Accessible Tourism
• Publication of first international standard on accessible tourism for all, led by UNWTO, Fundación ONCE and UNE

UNWTO at FITUR 2023: Investing in a Diverse, Sustainable Future for Tourism

• All Regions
• 20 Jan 2023

At FITUR 2023, UNWTO served as the bridge between public and private leaders to advance plans to build a more diverse, resilient and sustainable tourism sector.

With the latest UNWTO data pointing to a return to pre-pandemic arrival levels in some world regions in 2023, Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili once again joined His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain in opening the major travel trade fair. Reflecting the Organization's priorities, UNWTO placed tourism investments, rural development, diversification, sustainability and accessibility centre stage over the course of four days.

Investment and building trust

Against the backdrop of FITUR, UNWTO and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) strengthened their existing partnership to further advance UNWTO's work to attract and retain investment in tourism. The partnership will include the production of tourism investment guidelines, initially focused on Barbados, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama and Uruguay. Both organizations will develop frameworks to attract, promote and retain foreign direct investment in sustainable tourism initiatives across the Americas.

UNWTO recognized the progress made in rethinking the role of tourism in the economies and societies of the region. The President of the Republic of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei, and the Executive President of Banco Popular of the Dominican Republic, Christopher Paniagua, were formally recognized by UNWTO for their commitment to mainstreaming tourism in economic policy and financing, respectively. At FITUR, President Giammattei also confirmed the adherence of Guatemala to the UNWTO International Code for the Protection of Tourists.

Widening the scope of tourism

As part of UNWTO's work to diversify the sector and enhance its status as a driver of rural development, the Spanish province of La Rioja was announced as the host of the 7th UNWTO Global Wine Tourism Conference later this year. Secretary-General Pololikashvili, the President of La Rioja, Concha Andreu, and Spain's Minister of Tourism Reyes Maroto, highlighted the importance of the growing wine tourism sector for protecting culture and supporting local jobs and businesses.

UNWTO also recognized the importance of shopping tourism, with particular reference to its close links to leisure and gastronomy. A Memorandum of Understanding, signed by UNWTO and WOW Concept, will see the two work together to promote responsible urban tourism through joint promotions and events as well as through shared efforts to monitor and share trends in tourism consumption. Further diversifying the sector's reach and impact, UNWTO also partnered with the Croatian National Tourist Board to announce the Second World Sports Tourism Congress. The agreement, signed  by Croatia’s Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac, will see the event held in  the city of Zadar on 26 and 27 April.

Tourism for all

To rethink accessible travel, UNWTO, Fundación ONCE and the Spanish Association for Standardization (UNE) co-organized a Seminar on Tourism for All, gathering national tourism administrations, destinations, companies and professional industry associations, underscoring the role of accessibility for social inclusion and business opportunity. The partners presented tools aimed at implementing the international standard UNE-ISO 21902 on Accessible Tourism for All, including with a new guide to applying it in accommodation and hospitality businesses.

Sustainability: On land and in oceans

UNWTO continued to step up tourism's pace towards a more sustainable future. The Mexican State of Yucatán, home to some of the country's top tourism destinations, is the latest addition of the UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO). Already numbering more than 30 worldwide, INSTO monitors tourism's impact on local economies and habitats, allowing for smarter data-driven policymaking.

UNWTO concluded its week at FITUR by hosting a special meeting on Tourism for the Ocean and Climate Action at its Madrid headquarters. Counting on the participation of Member of the European Parliament Catherine Chabaut, as well as Ruben Eiras, Secretary General, Forum Oceano, Paul Holhtus, Founding President, World Ocean Council, and Josiane Sadaka, CEO of Blue Carbon LLC, the event saw UNWTO confirm its support for the BlueCOP28 and Dubai Blue Pact initiatives. For his work leading tourism towards greater sustainability, Frédéric Degret, the Founder and CEO at NOAH ReGen was named as the UNWTO Special Advisor for Oceans and Climate Emergency.

Strengthening relationships

FITUR 2023 provided the opportunity for UNWTO to strengthen relations with public and private sector leaders. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili held a series of bilateral meetings to keep servicing the Organization's Member States. The UNWTO leadership met with new Minister of Tourism of Jordan, Makram Mustafa Al-Qaisi, with the Minister of Tourism of Uruguay, Tabaré Viera; Deputy Minister of Tourism for Georgia, Nuno Fazenda, Minister of Tourism for Portugal, Mariam Kvrivishvili, Nuno Fazenda, Minister of Tourism for  Portugal, the Minister of Tourism of Nigeria, Lai Mohammed, the Governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi as well as the Minister of Tourism of Puerto Rico Carlos Mercado, and also with Dario Item, Ambassador to Spain of UNWTO's newest Member State, Antigua and Barbuda.

In a working meeting with Mariana Oleskiv, Chairperson of the State Agency for Tourism of Ukraine, Secretary-General Pololikashvili reaffirmed UNWTO's firm support for Ukrainian's citizens and noted tourism's role for future recovery and as a pillar of peace. Meetings were also held with the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Skiathos Thodoris Tzoumas, the Israeli Ambassador to Spain, Rodica Radian-Gordon.

Related Links

• Download the News Release in PDF
• UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO)
• UNWTO: Accessible Tourism
• UNWTO: Gastronomy and Wine Tourism

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