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We are more than excited to have won the second place at Booking Cares Lab 2018 and to receive a €20,000 grant for the strength and feasibility of our 30-day plan, as well as the projected impact of our solution for more sustainable tourism. Three days full of inspiration, hard work and noteworthy business acquaintances have come to an end leading up to our expansion in the Netherlands, the third country in row Clio Muse operates at.
With its main focus being the sustainable tourism industry, the Booking Cares Lab 2018 invited the 10 fastest-growing European startups that operate in the tourism sector to develop sustainable tourism solutions. All of the 10 teams that participated in the program had groundbreaking ideas and an already successful portfolio making the competition quite challenging and definitely more intriguing.
Over the course of three days, the selected participants took part in workshops led by various experts in the tourism industry including acclaimed professionals from Booking.com, the city of Amsterdam and Amsterdam Marketing. Each team was paired with a Booking.com mentor who helped the participants and supervised the development of a 30-day plan.
We were called to submit a functional 30-day plan with measurable results for the following themes: Tourism Dispersal, relieving pressure on crowded tourist areas; Inclusive Growth, making sure that everyone in the city benefits from the growing tourism opportunity, including an even more diverse array of local businesses and Behavioral Awareness, educating travelers about how to act more like a local.
By using the methodology we had already developed since our foundation, our suggested solution was the creation of tours that combine popular attractions with the city’s lesser-known places. In that way, the famous landmarks are presented throughout captivating storytelling and the off-the-beaten-path places gain visibility.
We had the pleasure to have Ahmed Farag, a senior software developer at Booking.com as our mentor, guiding us throughout the whole process and introducing us to the city of Amsterdam. His valuable insights and advice helped us grow our project further and enhanced us with new skills that we will definitely put into use in each one of our upcoming projects.
Receiving a grant by one of the leading travel e-commerce companies for our scalable storytelling methodology makes The Booking Cares Lab 2018 truly unique to us. We are more than proud to see that our methodology can be applied in every city around the world and that experts in the tourism industry embrace our ideas and give us the opportunity to put them into practice in new destinations. It was a pleasure meeting all these intriguing established and upcoming entrepreneurs and to be able to present Clio Muse Tours’ vision and aim.
Finally, Booking Cares Lab 2018 was the starting point for a business relationship with Booking.com. We currently have ongoing communication with employees at Booking.com regarding multiple areas of Clio Muse Tours. Having recently expanded to a new country and with one more destination coming soon, requirements arise to expand our team and adjust our business model. The transition from a startup to a scaleup needs proper preparation and we are more than lucky to have the experienced employees of Booking.com giving us their valuable advice. From Human Resources consultancy to how to preserve our team agility and flexibility, every input we have received is invaluable.