Author: Angélica Medina

On Tuesday, July 25th representatives of the Spanish State Secretariat of Tourism, SEGITTUR (acronym in Spanish of State-owned Company for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies), the IE Business School and the Council Superior of Chambers of Commerce, gathered at Area 31 in order to seek synergies and promote innovative entrepreneurship in the tourism industry.

This initiative has been formalized with the signing of a collaboration agreement between such bodies.

During the event, SEGITTUR provided a brief description of the financing lines from Emprendetur 2013, a program which has 75 million Euros to funding entrepreneurial projects related to innovation, research and development in tourism.

We also had the opportunity to meet founders & representatives of some of the innovative projects that was beneficiaries of the Emprendetur 2012 program:

• World Experience Barcelona: Agency that offers tourist experiences & leisure in Barcelona.
• WeSmartPark: Management of the tourist parking services based on an intelligent technology.
• Tripmenu: Provides access to a network of restaurants affiliated, with the aim of facilitating the best gastronomic experiences and the best prices to travelers.
• Sherpandipity: Offers to travelers the possibility to discover and enjoy the destination with the guide of who best knows it: a Sherpa (local representative)
• Portbooker.com: Online Nautical Guide with information on marinas, including an online and real-time berth booking engine

Finally, we meet the founder of Room Mate Hotels, who share with us his successful experience as an entrepreneur in tourism.

With this initiative, IE Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center shows over again its support to entrepreneurial activity and promotes innovative and technological initiatives in the Spanish tourism industry.