UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition 2021

UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition 2021

Deadline July 1, 2021

UNWTO is inviting great minds to join them in building back better from covid-19 with their ideas for a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient sector. Interested persons can now apply for the UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition 2021.

The UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition seeks to source new startups and entrepreneurs that advance the contribution of tourism to rural development and support recovery. The Competition aims to support rural tourism as a key tool to fight depopulation, promote inclusion and reduce regional inequalities in income and development as part of UNWTO’s special focus on tourism for rural development.

Creating opportunities in Rural Destinations through innovation and digital transformation in tourism to:

Fighting poverty: 80% of all people living in ‘extreme poverty’ live in rural communities.
Curbing depopulation: By 2050 68% of the world population will live in urban areas and cities will produce 85% of global economic output.
Closing the Digital Divide – 87 per cent of people in developed countries used the Internet, compared with just 19 per cent in the least developed countries.
Supporting Women and Youth– More that 50% of global workforce employed in tourism are women and nearly 1 billion of the world’s 1.2 billion youth aged 15-24 reside in developing countries and 88% of youth in developing countries live in rural areas; 75 million of them are unemployed.

The Competition will also support the entrepreneurs and enterprises that can help rural communities seize the economic and social opportunities that will come as tourism restarts.

Benefits

Mentoring by UNWTO and top partners
Tailored support for your startup
Investment opportunities
Form part of the UNWTO Innovation Network
Form part of the UNWTO Best Tourism Villages of the World Pilot Initiative
Scholarship opportunities for the Tourism Online Academy
Opportunity to present your startup at the 14th UNWTO General Assembly in Marrakech Morocco

Qualifications

The competition is open to all entrepreneurs, whether individuals or legal entities with projects startups that meets up with the following categories:

Projects that incentivize the creation of jobs and opportunities, promote gender and youth empowerment, build opportunities for vulnerable groups in rural areas.
Projects related to the promotion and protection of natural resources, namely the mitigation of the impact of tourism on waste, energy and water in rural areas.
Startups that provide innovative solutions through new business models, instruments that promote access to finance, markets and marketing for tourism in rural areas.
Deep Tech – startups implementing new technologies to advance tourism and development in rural areas.
Overall the projects must be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.

Competition details