UNWTO Sports Tourism Start-up Competition 2019 [Travel]

In order to encourage the development of the sports tourism industry, the World Tourism Organization, in collaboration with the Barça Innovation Hub and the Qatar National Tourism Council, announced the launch of the first UNWTO Sport Tourism Start-up Competition.

The business opportunities for you and your company are endless: for example, transportation, accommodation and security facilities needed to support sporting events. Training and certification programs for local operators. Technological possibilities with applications, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

The event aims to seek out start-ups with ideas focused on solving real problems and filling gaps of all kinds in the growing sport tourism sector.

In the semifinal round they would have the opportunity to go to Qatar and present their project in front of Qatar 2022...and also if it fits with the Barca strategy the startups will have the opportunity to pilot the project with one of the top teams of the world, that is Barcelona Football Club

A total of 20 start-ups will be pre-selected by a panel of international experts and stakeholders in sport and tourism. The best ideas will also be considered for implementation in Qatar, which is preparing to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Sport tourism generates 12 to 15 million international arrivals each year with a growth forecast of about 6% per year in the short term. It represents 10 percent of the world’s tourism industry, with a turnover of about $800 billion.

Nyasha K Mutizwa speaks to Natalia Bayona the UNWTO Senior Expert on Innovation about the importance of African businesses taking part in the competition.