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Inovatur Award highlights the excellence of startups in the tourism sector in Rio de Janeiro
Published on 19/12/2024 - 15:29 | Updated
The trophies developed by Firjan highlighted the curves of Rio. Photo: Disclosure The Rio de Janeiro City Hall, through the Municipal Department of Tourism (SMTUR-Rio), presented the first Inovatur Award on Wednesday (18/12), developed in partnership with Firjan-IEL, to encourage startups in the tourism sector based in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The top three winners of five incubators monitored during the eight-month project were awarded, after the ideas developed were presented to an examining board, in an event known as “demoday”. The project is expected to be expanded in 2025.
– I would like to thank each of you for your participation. This is a great incentive for our project, which we intend to expand next year. This experience enhances and helps us to improve Inovatur, in the construction of new business models for tourism, combining technology and sustainability -, stated the secretary, Daniela Maia, when presenting the awards, in a ceremony at Casa Firjan, in Botafogo.
In first place was Magikk, a company created by Taz de Alencar that developed a hotel check-in system in which tourists who perform positive actions generate “karma”, a digital currency that can be exchanged for benefits, combining tourism and sustainability. In second place was Passeio Carioca, an application developed by Renato Bellini that allows tourists to map historical and cultural buildings. And in third place was Descubra Santa Cruz, an agency specialized in itineraries focused on imperial historical tourism, which has the Santa Cruz neighborhood, in the West Zone, as its starting point, created by Andressa de Aguiar Lobo.
The other incubators were Kids2gether, a platform created by Nathalia Lima to help families find tourist experiences in the city of Rio de Janeiro, connecting brands and destinations, and Konzup Hub, by Tatiana Rihan, a platform that uses artificial intelligence to create personalized itineraries, with trends detected in real time, to help agencies and guides in serving tourists.
Independence and sustainability
The project was launched in March of this year, aimed at startups, micro and small businesses. The incubation process began in May, in which companies receive guidance on developing innovative business models, which include training, consulting, mentoring and infrastructure, in addition to providing connections with investors and the innovation ecosystem. The great challenge faced by the incubators at Inovatur was the review of concepts, plans and actions to achieve financial independence in a sustainable way.
The jury members for the award were Marcel Balassiano, deputy secretary of Rio de Janeiro's Urban, Economic and Innovation Development, researcher and doctoral student at Fundação Getúlio Vargas; Guilherme Borges, vice president of Orla Rio and tourism advisor to the Rio de Janeiro Commercial Association; Adriana Homem de Carvalho, hotelier and tourism advisor to the Presidency of Fecomércio – RJ; Guigo Carvalho, strategic consultant and startup mentor; and Julia Zardo, manager of Innovation Environments at Firjan, PhD in Public Policy, Strategy and Development from the Institute of Economics at UFRJ and professor of entrepreneurship, local development, innovation and creative economy at PUC-Rio and several postgraduate programs.
River curves
The trophies that served as awards were developed by the Design and Digital Manufacturing Laboratory of Casa Firjan, with different representations of the curves of Rio: the one for the first place, in orange, shows the curves of Parque Madureira; the one for the second place, in blue, shows the curves of Parque do Flamengo and Marina da Glória; and the one for the third place, in yellow, shows the curves of the Burle Marx gardens at Palácio Capanema.
The concept of the pieces combined technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. While they were made using laser cutting technology, they evoke the works of great Brazilian architects and landscapers, such as Roberto Burle Marx and Sérgio Magalhães, to represent a visual metaphor of the entrepreneurial journey, in which curves, challenges and opportunities intertwine, celebrating the ability to innovate, transform and contribute to Rio's tourism.
