Smart Tourism

Issue: Due to COVID-19, travel and tourism is worldwide among the most affected sectors. In the Western Balkans specifically, all economies are now acting up to find creative ways to assist the industry to survive, identifying digital solutions in tourism as a key tool to support the industry’s recovery.

Response to the problem: We seek innovative ideas to alleviate problems brought by the pandemic in order to transform business models and practices, and value ecosystems. Indicatively, such ideas could be about: Contactless technology, Data collection, Tourism registration, Monitoring & reporting solutions, Health & Safety Protocols, e-ticketing systems, Digital Identification etc.

Marketing & Communication

Issue: Tourism and travel confidence have taken a big hit because of the pandemic. Clear communication and a well-designed information policy are particularly important to promote the region as a safe tourism destination.

Response: We seek innovative digital solutions to help promote the region as a safe tourism destination that are focused on thematic tourism products such as cultural and adventure tourism. Indicatively, such solutions could be about: Digital Market Place, One-stop shops for tourists, Experiential approach of destination presentations, Joint Marketing of regional promotion for destinations, Creation of digital on-site presentation tools, Virtual / Augmented reality projects, Novelty in marketing approach to tourism, etc.

Who can apply?

Everyone who has a great idea, vision and skills to develop digital solutions that fall into the priority areas of FUTOURISMO and is older than 18, is welcome to join: start-ups, digital innovation hubs, scientific parks, universities, SMEs and teams of young individuals from all Western Balkans 6 that want to contribute and make an impact.

FUTOURISMO searches for digital solutions that are feasible, applicable and that can be implemented in all Western Balkan economies.

When?

Submissions for proposals end on 19 February 2021, 12:00 (CET).

The Award Ceremony is scheduled for 2 March 2021.

Where?

FUTOURISMO will take place online. All shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their proposals for digital solutions during an online event hosted on Zoom.

Why?

Covid-19 has shown the need for greater use of digital technologies and a necessity for further development of digital solutions in many areas. “Smart tourism” is the application of technology and innovation to facilitate the visitor’s experience through a digital platform, and all tourism activities should be linked to common digital infrastructure. Smart tourism in this context is a variety of online services acting as enablers of smart destinations. Helping the Western Balkans region to allocate scarce recovery resources, it is essential to build functioning networks beyond the existing ones, to align with impending priorities, to increase the digital skill of all stakeholders across the region and to improve the digital footprint as a whole. Finally, FUTOURISMO will also serve as an impulse for the stakeholders in the region to work together on the identification of smart digital solutions and further development of digital transformation in the region.

Key Dates

3 February 2021, 12:00 (CET) - Opening of the registration process
9 February 2021, 12:00 (CET) - Info Day. Open presentation of FUTOURISMO and Q&A
16 February 2021, 12:00 (CET) - Deadline for questions and clarifications requests
19 February 2021, 12:00 (CET) - Closing of the registration process and submission of documents
22 February 2021 - Announcement of the shortlisted Digital Solutions
25 & 26 February 2021 - Mentors are at participants’ disposal for preparation of final presentation
1 March 2021 - Submission of final presentations
2 March 2021 - Presentation of all digital solutions
2 March 2021 - Announcement of the winners and Awards Ceremony

Prizes

6 winning proposals in total will be selected out of the shortlisted digital solutions in both thematic groups of Smart Tourism and Marketing & Communication. A prize of EUR 15,000 will be provided to each winner by the RCC.

How to apply

The registration process opened on 3 February 2021, 12:00 (CET).

Every participant will have to download the documents below, read the Guidelines and send all requested documents and information to tourism[at]rcc.int until 19 February 2021, 12:00 (CET).

• FUTOURISMO Guidelines
• Statement of Honor

Presenting the solutions

A live presentation of the shortlisted digital solutions will take place during the FUTOURISMO online event on 2 March 2021.

The digital solutions presentations of the shortlisted projects will be in English and sent to tourism[at]rcc.int by 1 March 2021, as a presentation video (you can provide a link to a YouTube video which should not be longer than 3 min, otherwise it will not be evaluated), ppt, demo, prototype (depending on the solution proposed).

All information regarding the competition process will be provided to registered participants before the competition begins.

Language

The official language of FUTOURISMO is English. To participate, you should understand and be able to communicate in English. All submitted documents and presentations have to be in English too.

Support & Info Day

There will be mentors with different knowledge backgrounds who will support you throughout the FUTOURISMO competition. They will provide valuable tips and feedback.

An open InfoDay event, will be organized on 9 February 2021, at 12:00 (CET) on Zoom:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/99746496374?pwd=blRLM3ZtZVBwMlh2bWJqNy9lb2JHQT0

Meeting ID: 997 4649 6374
Passcode: 808390

For further questions and clarifications concerning the submission of your digital solution proposal, you can communicate with us by mail: tourism[at]rcc.int until 16 February 2021, 12:00 (CET).

Mentors

Mentors will be assigned based on the choice of topic during your registration. Mentors will be at the shortlisted participants’ disposal for preparation of final presentation and help the winners of FUTOURISMO until the end of their projects.

Evaluation Criteria

The main evaluation criteria are: Novelty & Innovation, Excellence, Potential and Quality of management and efficiency of implementation. Detailed information on the judging criteria will be provided at the beginning of the event.

Applicant limitations

Eligible to participate in the FUTOURISMO competition are proposals for digital solutions submitted and implemented by:

• Legal entities formally registered in at least one of the WB6 economies in accordance with the valid legal regulations such as digital companies, non-governmental organizations, education institutions, etc.
• Non-formal groups such as business start-ups, innovator’s clubs, academic groups, etc.
• Teams of individuals consisting solely of citizens of the WB6 economies (or persons with permanent residency and work permits in WB6) over 18 years of age. Applications of individuals are not eligible.

Full eligibility criteria are available in the FUTOURISMO Guidelines document.

Any specific requirements?

There is no maximum limit to the number of participants. Any start-up, digital innovation hub, scientific park, university, SME, team of young individuals from all WB6 interested in digitization, smart solutions for smart tourism and marketing & communication in tourism, is welcome to participate.