New Delhi, Delhi, India

• In association with IHCL and Tata Trusts, WTFL commits to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship for the sector
• The eagerly awaited Innovation Camp garners over 200 promising entries from India and South East Asia
• Exciting new concepts await to be evaluated for their game changing ideas in innovation and sustainability

Bangalore, November 6 2019:  World Tourism Forum Lucerne (WTFL), a global platform  for  tourism, travel and hospitality, is making its debut in India and has received over 200 participation requests for the upcoming Start-Up Innovation Camp, 2019. 
This first-of-its-kind competition in India had open entries for start-ups focusing on culture, community, conservation and commerce in the field of travel, tourism and hospitality from the Indian subcontinent. In collaboration with Tata Trusts, IHCL, Swissnex India and the Global Himalayan Expedition, the finalists will be announced at the Start-Up Innovation Camp to be held on December 18th later this year.
WTFL’s entry into India is well-timed as the country braces up to revive Brand India with the help of 5 Ts: Tradition, Talent, Tourism, Trade and Technology. This resonates very well with the four focus areas of Conservation, Culture, Community and Commerce where the nominations were solicited from promising entrepreneurs.
For the past 10 years, WTFL has given an exclusive ground to the budding businessmen by nurturing their innovations in this sector.
The Indian Start-Up Innovation Camp has already received over 200 nominations, with Indian start-ups dominating it with 95% entries. All the entries will be screened by the pre-selection jury and 40 game changing ideas will be presented to the panel of International judges. Final 16 start-ups will be invited for the finale in Bangalore to showcase their products/services. One winner under each category will take home $ 10,000 each along with a personalized two-year mentoring by industry experts.
The focus area for the upcoming India camp is the positive social impact of travel, tourism and hospitality across the globe in the following categories:

• Conservation (Of nature and natural resources and assets including green infrastructure, water management, recycling, up cycling)
• Community (Rural, eco, ethnic and authentic tourism experiences in remote locations that lead to positive economic, environmental and social impact)
• Culture (Collaborative and inclusive preservation of tradition, local culture and skills including food, and culinary co-hosting and revival)
• Commerce (An open category for all tech enabled, disruptive, innovative, change making, groundbreaking ideas in the sector)

Registration is open online at indian.startupcamp2019.wtflucerne.org/welcome.