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October 2018, Madrid, Spain - The World Tourism Organization and Basque
Culinary Center (BCC), have launched a pioneering initiative for the
gastronomic tourism sector, with a global call for startups or
companies, mature or emerging, technological and non-technological, with
innovative ideas capable of revolutionizing and integrating gastronomy
in tourism and inspiring tourists with new ways and reasons to travel.
The gastronomic tourism sector is moving
towards innovation and the diversification of its offerings. UNWTO, in
collaboration with its Affiliated Member, Basque Culinary Center (BCC),
has launched the 1st UNWTO Gastronomy Tourism Startup Competition, the
first and largest initiative in the world dedicated to identifying new
companies that will lead the transformation of the gastronomic tourism
sector.
Intangible cultural heritage has become
the decisive factor that attracts and captivates tourists. Gastronomy
tourism, as a component and vehicle of culture and tradition, is an
indispensable resource that adds value and provides solutions for
destinations that seek to stand out through unique product offerings.
The
Competition will make it possible to identify the best solutions and
projects that contribute the most to the sector through pioneering
proposals in the implementation of emerging and disruptive technologies,
as well as emerging companies or startups. It aims to identify
challenges and projects, and to catalyse innovations that can transform
the Gastronomy Tourism sector in the near future.
“Innovation
and tourism investments are not ends in themselves, but are means to
promote better tourism products, improve tourism governance and harness
its proven capability to foster sustainability, create jobs and generate
opportunities,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili.
“Education and innovation are essential
for the development of sustainable gastronomic tourism. At Basque
Culinary Center, we support entrepreneurship and the development of new
business projects to ensure the future of the sector. In this regard, we
are proud to once again team up with our partners at UNWTO in order to
continue fostering entrepreneurship and innovation linked to gastronomy
tourism through this initiative,” said Joxe Mari Aizega, General Manager
of Basque Culinary Center.
UNWTO
and Basque Culinary Center have entrusted the process of finding
startups to BCC Innovation through its Culinary Action! programme, which
has accelerated nearly 50 startups by providing innovative, sustainable
and high added value solutions to the gastronomy value chain.
Sustainability and technology
Startups are invited to pitch business
models that are related to sustainability, respect the value chain,
offer an authentic and coherent narrative, and add value to cultural and
local heritage.
The winners of this competition will have
the opportunity to present their projects at the 5th World Forum on
Gastronomy Tourism (2-3 May 2019, San Sebastián, Spain), with the
possibility of receiving personalized consulting and mentoring from the
BCC experts of project accelerator Culinary Action!
Full information on the terms and conditions are available at https://www.gastronomytourismventures.org/.
About UNWTO
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a
United Nations specialized agency, is the leading international
organization with the decisive and central role in promoting the
development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible
tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a
practical source of tourism know-how.
About Basque Culinary Center
Basque
Culinary Center is a pioneering academic institution worldwide that
comprises the Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences attached to Mondragon
University and a Center for Innovation and Research, BCC Innovation. It
is the first Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences in Spain and the only one
in the world with an R&D centre. Its board also features 11 of the
world’s leading chefs. The aim of Basque Culinary Centre is higher
education, research, innovation and promotion of gastronomy and food,
and it is working to promote gastronomy as a lever for socio-economic
development through its actions.
Furthermore,
the Basque Culinary Center has created a technological centre for
gastronomy, BCC Innovation. Its objectives are to transform knowledge
into wealth, drive innovation in companies and to participate actively
in the creation of new businesses, thus guaranteeing the future of the
sector. BCC Innovation supports entrepreneurs in the development of new
business projects.
