Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has launched the Futurism Programme, a platform for technology start-ups from all over the globe.
Aimed at bringing about a paradigm shift within the industry ecosystem to help create innovative tourism experiences, the third edition is held in collaboration with professional services company Accenture (NYSE: ACN).
Ahead of the launch of the 2019 edition of the Futurism Programme, Dubai Tourism hosted a workshop for key stakeholders to identify new travel and technology trends within the industry and establish the key themes.
“Since the inception of the Futurism Programme in 2017, Dubai Tourism has helped shine a light on several pioneering start-up businesses from around the world, supporting them to become true success stories, as their solutions have led to impactful improvements in the travel and tourism sector,” says Yousuf Lootah, executive director, Tourism Development and Investments, Dubai Tourism.
“The launch of the third edition is testament to the Programme’s ongoing success and the huge interest it has gained among Dubai Tourism’s partners, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and stakeholders within the start-up and tourism ecosystems,” he adds.
Among the partners who attended the industry workshop were Emirates Group, Tajawal- Seera Group, Atlantis The Palm, Emaar Hospitality Group, Accor and Dubai Airports.
The 2019 Futurism Programme invites entrepreneurs to submit their applications by July 31. With the goal of contributing towards transforming tourism experiences, the start-ups will showcase technological innovation with solutions to help drive Futurism themes including hyper-personalisation, connected travel, digitising operations and more.
A judging panel comprising leading technology experts, Dubai Tourism’s senior leadership and its partners across the industry will select the top ten start-ups from all entries submitted into the process.
Shortlisted entrants will be put through a six-week accelerator programme during which the ten finalists will each be given the opportunity to finalise a pilot project with the support of Dubai Tourism and its partners.
Start-ups will pitch their unique concepts to a group of business owners, investors and venture capitalists at the Dubai Tourism stand at GITEX Future Stars, the Middle East and Africa’s largest start-up conference of global tech entrepreneurs, international investors and influential corporate buyers, which will be hosted later this year.
Dubai Tourism will announce the winning start-up and a runner-up, who stand to win a prize totalling AED 100,000 as the initial start-up capital. In addition to licensing, the winner will receive relevant visas in Dubai, office space and the opportunity to secure potential future funding.
