Young people who have innovative ideas that will solve practical problems in tourism through the use of technology, invites the CapsuleT Travel & Tourism Hospitality Accelerator , an initiative of the Hotel Chamber of Greece , to participate in the 3rd Idea Platform.

The new application period has started and runs until Monday, March 21, 2022, following on from two successful CapsuleT Idea Platform youth competitions to accelerate tourism technology startups.

The Accelerator Always Mindful the promotion of innovation and the upgrading of the Greek tourist product invites teams to claim a place in the competition program and - if selected - to have the opportunity to work intensively with the help of industry experts on their idea. The 12-day competition program is full of workshops, mentoring sessions and speeches by industry experts, such as recognized founders of start-up businesses but also executives of large organizations and companies active in tourism, with the ultimate goal of guiding the newly formed groups, supporting the further development of their idea and its transformation into a start-up business.

Who can participate in the 3rd Idea Platform

The Idea Platform is aimed at:

• young students
• graduates
• postgraduate or doctoral students of the country's schools
• new unemployed executives
• very early stage startups with a technological and entrepreneurial background
• The aim for the participating teams is to submit business proposals that can solve practical problems found in tourism, through the use of technology and focus on the categories/sectors of the competition.

The accelerator team is looking for ideas that can develop into startups with a positive impact on the digital transformation of the Greek tourism industry, while if they wish, the 3 winners of the competition will have the opportunity to qualify directly to the 5th round of the competition Acceleration Program, in order to further develop their business activity.

More specifically, eligible candidates, in order to secure a place in the program that will take place from March 28 to April 14, 2022, should be:

• teams (at least 2 people) with an innovative business idea for the tourism sector, which requires the use of technology to implement.
• team members must be 18 to 35 years old, graduates or post-graduate students of faculties related to fields such as Science, Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, Information Technology, Business Administration, Finance, Tourism Management and so on.
• applicants must have Greek citizenship or be residents of Greece.
• the candidate teams should not have received any other funding, except only a first round of funding/or from friends and family (which does not exceed 50,000 euros)
• in the event that they have already proceeded to establish a company, the period of establishment should be less than 6 months from the date of application to participate in the program.

Ideas for applications and services

Teams come up with application ideas for products and services that are relevant to the goals and theme of the Idea Platform, i.e. applications and solutions, such as:

a) for the hotel and catering tourism sector (hotel management, revenue management, channel management, HR management, guest products & services, etc.),

b) for tourist transport (Distribution & Transfers)

c) for booking engines and electronic tourist offices (booking engines & OTAs)

d) for tourist and cultural activities, guided tours and events

e) products and solutions for airports, marine tourism-marinas

f) applications and solutions for sustainability (sustainability solutions), such as applications and solutions for saving energy and natural resources, food waste, material recycling, etc. (indicative applications - solutions for hotel units, tourist facilities, museums, but also islands, villages, areas with special tourist concentration, etc.),

g) applications using space technologies in accordance with the "Space for Tourism" funding program in areas such as communications, connectivity, accessibility, travel safety, etc.,

h) specialized communication and promotional solutions (such as measurement and evaluation of services, social networks, advertising, etc.).

At the same time, and for this year, there is a special section for operational ideas concerning applications to solve and manage needs that have arisen in businesses, agencies and tourism units due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Structure of the programme 3rd Idea Platform

The 3rd Idea Platform will have a total duration of 12 days. It will take place online between 28 March and 14 April 2022. The Idea Platform will include workshops, talks and mentoring (implementation of the programme in the afternoon/afternoon hours). It should be noted that the 12-day period includes both the preparatory period and the competitive part. For the successful completion and the right to participate in the Closing Ceremony (competitive part - presentations) on 14 April 2022, the participation of at least 1 team member is required throughout the programme.

Leading companies alongside teams

The 3rd Idea Platform has been designed by the CapsuleT team and the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels. It hasthe active support and contribution of major organizations of the country as well as startup companies of the tourism ecosystem. Indicatively, in the program again this year, they cooperate and participate as strategic partners -among others-:

• Google
• the Athens International Airport
• Expedia Group
• the NBG Business Seeds of the National Bank and
• the company Programize

In addition, the accelerator's effort will be supported by representatives of recognized start-up businesses in the field of tourism, such as:

• Clio Muse Tours
• Ferryhopper
• Triparound
• Welcome Pickups
• Woof Together
• Workathlon
• Zoottle, et al.