Deadline: 15-Oct-20
The World Tourism Organization together with Athletic Club of Bilbao and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia have launched the Smart Solutions for Smart Destinations Challenge to drive innovation and promote entrepreneurship in tourism.
This new challenge is designed for startups with innovative and intelligent ideas to maximize the visitor experience in stadiums or at events. All solutions must facilitate the entire tourist experience, including before and after an event not just during it.
In particular, the competition is looking for ideas whose benefits will be felt throughout the wider Bizkaia region, complementing the work of Athletic Club.
The winning startups will be given the chance to work alongside Athletic Club for six months to develop a pilot project.
Competition
- They are looking for startups with innovative and intelligent solutions that maximize the visitor experience in stadiums or events. In addition, it must facilitate the entire tourist experience included in its entire process: before, during and after the enjoyment of said experience.
- Proposals that affect the distribution of tourist flows through the region will be positively valued, giving access to the offer that the territory presents and that complements the Athletic Club offer itself.
Competition Categories
- Projects in the pre-seed phase (in the development phase of the prototype of the proposed solution or only conceptual design).
- Projects with a minimum viable product, with a pilot tested in the market.
Benefits
- The 20 shortlisted startups They will have the opportunity to contrast their proposal with a panel of experts representing agents from the tourism, sports and public administration sectors.
- The 10 startup finalists They will have the opportunity to present their idea to a panel of evaluators at an event to be held at the San Mamés stadium.
- The winning companies They will have the opportunity to develop a pilot project in collaboration with Athletic Club for 6 months.
- If the winning companies are from Bizkaia, or decide to change their tax address to Bizkaia, will have access to growth and acceleration services of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, advice for the financing of their projects and space in coworking facilities for 6 months.
Priority Areas of specialization
- Events
- Optimize and maximize the potential of Events for Tourism Development in the destination
- Sport And Tourism
- How sport can help restore the flow of tourists and visitors in a city after a health catastrophe
- Facilities
- Smart facilities as event connectors in cities and regions. Soccer stadiums as a catalyst for sustainable regional growth in tourism.
- New Technologies
- Take advantage of the impact of new technologies in smart destinations, and in the definition of new business models for the tourism industry.
- Connections
- Solutions that promote the flow of tourists to the territory’s leisure, cultural and sports offer
- Sustainability, inclusion and Security
- Solutions that promote a tourist experience with a higher level of safety and inclusion for tourists, under criteria of environmental responsibility.
Assessment Criteria
- Potential to improve the offer
- Potential impact on the business
- Product or technology maturity
- Team and organization maturity
- Collaboration experience
- Sustainability
For more information, visit https://www.unwto.org/unwto-ongoing-innovation-initiatives