CORDIS

CAST Virtual Hackathon | The Sustainable Tourism Challenge

The COVID-19 crisis is heavily affecting the tourism sector. According to the Word Tourism Organisation, the crisis could lead to a decline in international tourist numbers of between 60% and 80% when compared with 2019 figures. However, businesses can still generate new ideas to current challenges by using digital solutions for planning purposes and managing the flow of tourists.
In this context CAST partners, led by EBN, join forces and organise a virtual hackathon.

CAST Virtual Hackathon aims at tackling the current challenges at local, regional or European level and identifying effective answers to the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic poses to the tourism sector.

CAST is consequently seeking innovative proposals addressing the most urgent challenges created by COVID-19 in the field of tourism. In this framework we will be focusing on two main challenges:

Challenge 1: Business continuity in tourism sector

- New products and services ideas to enable the business continuity in tourism sector
- Some non-exhaustive examples of research solutions can be found below
- Solutions for restarting tourism operations (i.e. protocols aligned with health authority guidelines, social distancing measures, adequate space to avoid congregation of guests)
- Solutions designed to ensure responsible and secure tourism experience (i.e. minimise touch contact by digitising guest services, provide hand sanitiser dispensers, etc.)
- Solutions aiming at building trust and confidence for travellers

Challenge 2: New sustainable business models

Rethink the current business models and identify new ideas to create, deliver, and capture value related to tourism.
- Solutions aiming to create better strategic connections between public and private sector (which economic model, which founders, which key actors and stakeholders)
- Solutions of communicating about tourism opportunities to main customers and decision-makers while building new growth engines for tourism sector

PROGRAMME --> https://castnetwork.eu/events/Qbd4NJ8wiQHjcxm6WqMN
APPLY AT --> https://www.f6s.com/castvirtualhackathon/apply

The Hackathon is organised by EBN (https://ebn.eu) in collaboration with Creative Business Network (https://cbnet.com/) and WestBIC (https://www.westbic.ie/) during the Bright Week. Participation in the CAST Hackathon is free of charge. The participants registered to the CAST Hackathon will obtain a free access ticket to all the sessions and meetings organised during the Bright week.

CAST (https://castnetwork.eu/) is a 3-year collaborative project co-funded by the COSME programme of the European Commission under GA n.806917. CAST started in July 2018 developing a network of incubators & accelerators, startups, SMEs and financiers to form a European community committed to promoting knowledge-sharing, the use of technology and collaboration across borders for sustainable tourism, while helping the companies address common challenges.

The participants registered to the CAST Hackathon will obtain a free access ticket to all the sessions and meetings organised during the Bright Week.