Greek Costa Nostrum Among UNWTO Startup Competition Finalists

Photo source: UNWTO.

The Costa Nostrum organization in Greece is among the 10 global finalists of the UNWTO Startup Competition for Island Destinations that will pitch their smart tourism solutions at the forthcoming Tourism Teach Adventures Canarias 2023.

Launched seven years ago, the award-winning Costa Nostrum has created the “Costa – Nostrum Sustainable Beaches” certification standard through which all beaches on the Mediterranean Sea, regardless their ownership status and organization, can become environmentally sustainable and achieve qualitative improvement.

The startup competition focusing on sustainable tourism was launched earlier this year by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Institución Ferial de Canarias (INFECAR), aiming to highlight and honor the work of sustainable, innovative and disruptive business models that currently provide smart solutions to the complex challenges island destinations are facing across the globe especially after the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Photo source: Costa Nostrum.

The competition’s ten selected finalists, that have been invited to pitch their solutions at the upcoming two-day long Tourism Teach Adventures Canarias 2023, will have the opportunity to get mentorships by UNWTO and top industry partners, become members of the UNWTO Innovation Network and get offered startup tailored support and scholarship opportunities for the Tourism Online Academy.

Costa Nostrum

Regarding Costa Nostrum, the Greek organization is among the five finalists of the Innovation & Digitalization for Island Destinations category where startups were chosen for their smart solutions that harness innovation and digital technologies and provide tourism with opportunities to strengthen resilience, improve inclusiveness, local community empowerment and efficient resource management.

Other finalists in this category include Umni (Bulgaria), Volvero (Italy), Localbird (Spain) and WROXAI (India) with Greek startup Inteligg competing in the Deep Tech: New Technologies Applied to Sustainability category.

Both Costa Nostrum and Inteligg have participated in the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels (HCH) CapsuleT Accelerator program, aiming to build an innovative ecosystem in the Greek tourism sector by offering opportunities to create and develop startups with a global perspective and impact.