Clio Muse Tours wins the Digital Gate competition

We entered the Digital Gate competition of the Athens International Airport and we got out with an award. Clio Muse won for the best innovative proposal and application for new digital services and business activities that could function in a real airport environment. Seeing our Athens city tours on three screens in Greece’s main airport was the best reward we could receive for our hard work over the past three years.

A few words about the Digital Gate competition

Organized by the Athens International Airport, in cooperation with the Economic University of Athens and the scientific support of the Laboratory of Electronic Commerce and Business, the Digital Gate initiative aims to highlight Greece’s young entrepreneurs. Out of the 83 proposals submitted by 162 participants, 35 were offered the possibility of direct implementation in the airport environment. After six “pivoting” workshops led by 45 mentors and 18 specialized professionals, seven proposals made it to the final round. Six of them, including Clio Muse Tours, are implemented in the Athens airport environment. The final selection was done by 11 experts from the IT&T, Transport and Startups sectors that comprise the evaluation committee.

Clio Muse Tours’ project for the Digital Gate competition

Clio Muse Tours applied to the Digital Gate competition as a culture guide application suggesting an alternative for promoting Greece’s landmarks to travelers that have already visited them once. Specifically, by using our storytelling methodology we created tours that highlight both Athens’ hidden corners and well-known attractions. By combining the co-branding marketing strategy with our captivating narrations we created new paths for exploration around Athens’ historic center. Being awarded for our project as a solution to increase tourism in the Greek capital assured us of what we already knew: Clio Muse Tours promotes the world’s cultural heritage by making it appealing to travelers of all walks of life.

Clio Muse Tours at the final stage of the competition

After 4 months of developing our Proof of Concept (PoC) we were called to present it to domain experts who evaluated it based on the predefined requirements. Throughout the whole process, we were guided by mentors and AIA’s executives who at the same provided specific feedback on our idea.

By the end of the contest not only had we strengthened our skills but we gained a valuable partner and mentor: The Athens International Airport. Within a short period of time after the project’s completion, we see that Clio Muse Tours gained massive visibility in both travelers and cultural institutions. Our sales saw a noteworthy increase while we are already in communication with large-scale tourism companies for a potential partnership.