As World Tourism Day approaches, representatives from the tourism, innovation and business sectors, as well as investors and opinion leaders from Lithuania and abroad, will meet in Vilnius to discuss how technology is transforming tourism and what new opportunities it opens up for Lithuania. In addition, they will select the best solution developed by a start-up that has the potential to raise the profile of Lithuania as a tourist destination.
“Technology and artificial intelligence are rapidly transforming the tourism sector. It is important for Lithuania not only to keep pace with these trends, but also to create the conditions for innovations to be developed, tested and adapted here. To this end, we will bring together representatives from the tourism, technology and investment sectors in one place to share their experience and seek new solutions to strengthen the competitiveness of Lithuanian tourism,” says Guoda Burokienė, Deputy Minister for the Economy and Innovation.
The forum will be attended by high-level experts in tourism, innovation, urban development, technology and start-up ecosystems from Portugal, the Netherlands, Finland and Spain, who are shaping the future of modern tourism in Europe and around the world. The experts will discuss sustainable tourism development, smart city solutions, the future of travel technology and opportunities for collaboration between start-ups and the tourism sector.
The international tourism forum, organised by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the European Commission’s European Capitals of Tourism Secretariat, will explore how technology and artificial intelligence are transforming tourism. The theme of the forum is ‘The Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence: Transforming Tourism’.
In addition, the finalists of the ‘Discover Lithuania’ international start-up challenge – held for the first time at the forum – will present solutions designed to boost the visibility and competitiveness of Lithuania as a tourist destination.
Participants in the challenge, for which applications must be submitted by 3 September via the WTO website, will be assessed on the basis of four criteria: innovation and creativity, sustainability, benefits to local communities, and the applicability and international scope of the solutions.
At the end of the event, the winner of the challenge will be announced, and they will be rewarded with a tour of Lithuania. All the finalists in the challenge will be presented with symbolic weather vanes.
A key part of the forum will be a training session organised by Amadeus, one of the world’s largest travel technology companies, which will explore the impact of artificial intelligence, technology and new business models on the travel sector, as well as the use of data for tourism purposes.
The Lithuanian Tourism Technology Forum will take place on 16 September at the ‘Sąvaržėlė’ business centre (Konstitucijos pr. 14A, Vilnius). Admission is free.
The event forms part of the Lithuanian start-up ecosystem’s week of events – on the same day, ‘Investor Camp’ will take place, bringing together around 300 investors from 20 countries, and on 17 September – the international ‘Startup Fair’, which is expected to attract more than 450 start-ups and 300 investors.
