Around 700 people from different countries met in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia to participate in Tourism Tech Adventures: Scaling Up. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), with the support of the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, prepared the event as an interactive space to connect Colombian entrepreneurs, focused on tourism innovation and sustainability, with prominent high/end local and international investors.
Representatives of start-ups, academia, corporations, investors, business incubators and accelerators, took part in the debate together with officials from Colombia’s public sector. Among the companies represented were Amadeus Ventures, Bluebox, Angel Ventures and Dux Capital.
Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary General, headed the event, the latest for the international organization since its Eurasian Mountain Tourism Conference held in March.
Tourism Tech Adventures Highlights
In addition to multiple networking opportunities, the event included a Startup Masterclass presented by the IE Business School, in which 15 Colombian startups took part. This workshop was followed by a competition between new companies. GDX Travel’s James Figueroa, Tourbitz’s Eduardo Maldonado and Escappy Travel’s Miguel Antonio Paez won first, second and third place, respectively.
The winners were granted access and personalized mentoring at the Wayra Coworking Space in Bogotá, Colombia. They will also present their project within the framework of the 2019 UNWTO General Assembly, to be held September 9-13 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
