- The initiative has received backing from partners such as Telefónica, Amadeus, Intu and Distrito Digital Valencia.
- Proposals from around the world will begin arriving 13 September at Wakalua, Globalia’s tourism innovation hub.
St. Petersburg (Russia), 12 September 2019. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has joined Globalia, a leading tourism group in Spain and Latin America, to launch the second edition of the UNWTO Global Tourism Start-up Competition. After the success of the first edition, which attracted 3,000 applications from across the globe, the world’s largest start-up competition for tourism has returned to identify ideas and innovators who will lead the transformation of the sector.
The new call for proposals was announced during the 23rd General Session of the UNWTO General Assembly in St Petersburg, Russian Federation. Announcing the news, UNWTO General-Secretary stressed the important role innovation can play in making tourism a central part of the Sustainable Development Agenda.
“With this competition we are exploring new terrain in tourism, innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable development. We have succeeded in bringing together the most relevant stakeholders in the progress of our sector and its relevance on a global scale”, said Zurab Pololikashvili.
Joining him for the announcement, Globalia CEO Javier Hidalgo emphasised the collaborative effort of this second edition, with support from partners including Telefónica, Amadeus, Intu and Distrito Digital Valencia.
“Wakalua will help us to foresee a bright, sustainable, and profitable future. It will help us to promote a circular economy and foster social development. Globalia knows that the tourism of the future will not be the same as the tourism of yesterday. It needs to be better for our planet, for our kids, and the environment. This competition will help us to achieve those goals through technology and innovation” said Globalia’s CEO.
The new partners will actively engage in promoting the project’s five categories in addition to choosing the best solutions and most disruptive projects based on new business models:
Smart mobility
In partnership with Telefónica, this category is for projects that improve travel quality and facilitate user mobility on any type of transport. The aim here is to reduce economic, environmental and time-related costs.
Smart Destinations
This category, supported by Distrito Digital Valencia, is for ideas that improve the sustainability and profitability of a destination from an economic, environmental and socio-cultural perspective, with technology shown to promote innovation and accessibility in an increasingly globalised world.
Deep Tech, rethinking localisation and geolocation
Awarded in partnership with Amadeus, this category is for ideas that provide a unique value to tourists and travel companies through localization systems. The category will be focused on ideas for using data extracted through AI and localization technology to make trips even easier. These ideas can be used to identify tourist destinations, link them to nearby airports, extract data on image, text or video localization, optimise urban routes, analyse reviews about locations and much more.
Disruptive hospitality
In collaboration with Intu, this category is aimed at identifying new or already established companies from all over the world to help Globalia give guests of the future a first-class experience in every way.
Rural development
Globalia will make a special effort to provide solutions for the forestry, agricultural and rural sectors, aiming to bolster the transfer of knowledge and innovation and improve viability and competitiveness. This category also seeks companies that work in risk management, animal welfare and the restoration, preservation and improvement of ecosystems, with a continuous focus on promoting the shift towards a decarbonised economy.
Furthermore, UNWTO will award a special sustainability prize to lend visibility to projects that are committed to more efficient tourism.
This annual competition is a major project from Wakalua, Globalia’s tourism innovation hub, which will guide the winning start-ups, connect them with leading companies in the sector and support them as they scale-up their ideas. To accomplish this, UNWTO and Globalia have the support of the innovation consultancy firm Barrabes.
In the first call, 20 startups in 12 countries reached the semifinals and finals held in Budapest and Madrid, respectively. The tax return company Refundit, was the winner and Globalia, as a financial partner, also invested in Freebird together with Portugal Ventures, established a joint venture with Tripscience and launched a pilot with Pruvo.
The call for proposals for the 2nd UNWTO Tourism Startup Competition will be launched worldwide and will end on 15 November. The winners will be announced on 21 January 2020 during a gala event held during the Madrid International Tourism Fair (Fitur).
For more information and registration materials, visit www.tourismstartups.org.
Cheap Flights to Saint Petersburg
Origin | Departure at | Return at | Find tickets |
---|---|---|---|
Kaliningrad | 22 November 2024 | 28 November 2024 | Tickets from 33 |
Kaluga | 2 December 2024 | 4 December 2024 | Tickets from 36 |
Moscow | 25 November 2024 | 26 November 2024 | Tickets from 48 |
Kazan | 11 December 2024 | 12 December 2024 | Tickets from 56 |
Samara | 5 December 2024 | 10 December 2024 | Tickets from 65 |
Arkhangelsk | 3 December 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Tickets from 65 |
Murmansk | 4 December 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Tickets from 70 |
Saransk | 2 December 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Tickets from 70 |
Cheboksary | 23 November 2024 | 26 November 2024 | Tickets from 70 |
Ivanovo | 21 January 2025 | 26 January 2025 | Tickets from 75 |
Yaroslavl | 3 December 2024 | 9 December 2024 | Tickets from 78 |
Perm | 25 November 2024 | 26 November 2024 | Tickets from 81 |
Yekaterinburg | 4 December 2024 | 10 December 2024 | Tickets from 81 |
Ulyanovsk | 25 November 2024 | 26 November 2024 | Tickets from 83 |
Naberezhnye Chelny | 3 December 2024 | 4 December 2024 | Tickets from 83 |
Nizhniy Novgorod | 2 December 2024 | 4 December 2024 | Tickets from 83 |
Kostroma | 20 December 2024 | 22 December 2024 | Tickets from 84 |
Syktyvkar | 24 November 2024 | 28 November 2024 | Tickets from 85 |
Kirov | 25 November 2024 | 28 November 2024 | Tickets from 86 |
Orenburg | 2 December 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Tickets from 87 |
Pskov | 23 November 2024 | 27 November 2024 | Tickets from 91 |
Saratov | 2 December 2024 | 3 December 2024 | Tickets from 92 |
Chelyabinsk | 20 January 2025 | 21 January 2025 | Tickets from 92 |
Izhevsk | 17 January 2025 | 19 January 2025 | Tickets from 94 |
Surgut | 28 November 2024 | 4 December 2024 | Tickets from 94 |
Volgograd | 4 December 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Tickets from 97 |
Vologda | 28 November 2024 | 3 December 2024 | Tickets from 98 |
Gomel | 7 March 2025 | 11 March 2025 | Tickets from 98 |
Astrakhan | 25 November 2024 | 26 November 2024 | Tickets from 99 |
Penza | 4 February 2025 | 10 February 2025 | Tickets from 100 |
Naryan-Mar | 5 December 2024 | 8 December 2024 | Tickets from 103 |
Cherepovets | 26 March 2025 | 29 March 2025 | Tickets from 106 |
Kotlas | 25 November 2024 | 28 November 2024 | Tickets from 106 |
Vladikavkaz | 11 December 2024 | 14 December 2024 | Tickets from 107 |
Ufa | 11 February 2025 | 15 February 2025 | Tickets from 109 |
Minsk | 22 November 2024 | 23 November 2024 | Tickets from 109 |
Makhachkala | 23 January 2025 | 26 January 2025 | Tickets from 110 |
Orsk | 3 December 2024 | 6 December 2024 | Tickets from 112 |
Magnitogorsk | 7 March 2025 | 10 March 2025 | Tickets from 113 |
Kirovsk | 6 December 2024 | 8 December 2024 | Tickets from 114 |
Tyumen | 4 December 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Tickets from 114 |
Tambov | 27 February 2025 | 4 March 2025 | Tickets from 116 |
Khanty-Mansiysk | 4 December 2024 | 10 December 2024 | Tickets from 124 |
Mineralnye Vody | 2 December 2024 | 3 December 2024 | Tickets from 127 |
Barnaul | 3 December 2024 | 6 December 2024 | Tickets from 128 |
Groznyy | 29 November 2024 | 2 December 2024 | Tickets from 130 |
Stavropol | 3 December 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Tickets from 132 |
Gorno-Altaysk | 6 December 2024 | 8 December 2024 | Tickets from 133 |
Nalchik | 22 November 2024 | 24 November 2024 | Tickets from 134 |
Kurgan | 1 March 2025 | 4 March 2025 | Tickets from 138 |
Omsk | 18 March 2025 | 22 March 2025 | Tickets from 138 |
Nizhnevartovsk | 10 December 2024 | 12 December 2024 | Tickets from 139 |
Adler/Sochi | 23 January 2025 | 29 January 2025 | Tickets from 139 |
Tomsk | 13 March 2025 | 19 March 2025 | Tickets from 144 |
Ukhta | 25 January 2025 | 30 January 2025 | Tickets from 146 |
Kemerovo | 26 February 2025 | 4 March 2025 | Tickets from 161 |
Novyj Urengoj | 25 November 2024 | 27 November 2024 | Tickets from 171 |
Irkutsk | 26 November 2024 | 27 November 2024 | Tickets from 176 |
Yerevan | 2 December 2024 | 6 December 2024 | Tickets from 177 |
Tobolsk | 23 January 2025 | 29 January 2025 | Tickets from 180 |
Novokuznetsk | 22 January 2025 | 28 January 2025 | Tickets from 181 |
Novosibirsk | 18 January 2025 | 22 January 2025 | Tickets from 184 |
Magas | 26 November 2024 | 28 November 2024 | Tickets from 184 |
Tbilisi | 23 January 2025 | 28 January 2025 | Tickets from 185 |
Krasnojarsk | 5 December 2024 | 7 December 2024 | Tickets from 187 |
Velikij Ustyug | 18 December 2024 | 22 December 2024 | Tickets from 193 |
Petrozavodsk | 26 November 2024 | 27 November 2024 | Tickets from 196 |
Batumi | 16 January 2025 | 18 January 2025 | Tickets from 202 |
Abakan | 24 January 2025 | 26 January 2025 | Tickets from 207 |
Nojabrxsk | 16 January 2025 | 22 January 2025 | Tickets from 210 |
Bratsk | 4 December 2024 | 5 December 2024 | Tickets from 211 |
Elista | 5 December 2024 | 9 December 2024 | Tickets from 212 |
Ulan-Ude | 22 January 2025 | 28 January 2025 | Tickets from 212 |
Istanbul | 11 December 2024 | 15 December 2024 | Tickets from 213 |
Kogalym | 31 January 2025 | 3 February 2025 | Tickets from 216 |
Bugulma | 23 November 2024 | 28 November 2024 | Tickets from 218 |
Baku | 25 November 2024 | 27 November 2024 | Tickets from 222 |
Astana | 3 February 2025 | 9 February 2025 | Tickets from 223 |
Chita | 3 April 2025 | 8 April 2025 | Tickets from 231 |
Samarkand | 3 January 2025 | 8 January 2025 | Tickets from 232 |
Tashkent | 23 January 2025 | 27 January 2025 | Tickets from 234 |
Salekhard | 22 November 2024 | 24 November 2024 | Tickets from 238 |
Nadym | 17 December 2024 | 21 December 2024 | Tickets from 243 |
Abu Dhabi | 22 November 2024 | 25 November 2024 | Tickets from 243 |
Nyagan | 19 December 2024 | 24 December 2024 | Tickets from 246 |
Kutaisi | 7 December 2024 | 12 December 2024 | Tickets from 246 |
Antalya | 6 February 2025 | 10 February 2025 | Tickets from 255 |
Karaganda | 9 December 2024 | 11 December 2024 | Tickets from 257 |
Usinsk | 26 November 2024 | 29 November 2024 | Tickets from 257 |
Almaty | 9 December 2024 | 12 December 2024 | Tickets from 264 |
Blagoveschensk | 12 February 2025 | 16 February 2025 | Tickets from 269 |
Ust-Kamenogorsk | 14 January 2025 | 20 January 2025 | Tickets from 270 |
Ganja | 1 December 2024 | 3 December 2024 | Tickets from 274 |
Dubai | 3 December 2024 | 9 December 2024 | Tickets from 274 |
Bishkek | 2 December 2024 | 3 December 2024 | Tickets from 278 |
Yakutsk | 30 January 2025 | 5 February 2025 | Tickets from 283 |
Vladivostok | 17 January 2025 | 22 January 2025 | Tickets from 284 |
Kyzyl | 11 December 2024 | 13 December 2024 | Tickets from 288 |
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky | 8 December 2024 | 13 December 2024 | Tickets from 290 |
Rome | 9 December 2024 | 14 December 2024 | Tickets from 296 |