Singapore Tourism Accelerator opens with nine start-ups in first cohort

Nine companies chosen from more than 160 applicants

Nine travel tourism and hospitality start-ups from around the world have been chosen as the first cohort in the new Singapore Tourism Accelerator.

The initiative, which was announced at the recent ITB Asia 2019 trade show, will see the nine companies spend the next six months testing solutions that could benefit Singapore’s tourism sector.

The Accelerator is co-run by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and official partner, co-working Found8, and is located on STB’s headquarters.

The nine companies come from Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Australia, UK, and the Netherlands and were chosen from a pool of more than 160 applicants.

The firms chosen as the first members of the accelerator are:

• Xperium, a customer engagement platform by RepUp based in Gurgaon, India;
• Delight Labs, an AI travel assistant based in Hong Kong;
• Infinito Tech, a virtual revenue management assistant based in Singapore;
• Bakuun, an online hotel inventory platform based in London;
• Oaky, personalised upselling technology for hotels based in Amsterdam;
• Platter, an immersive storytelling platform based in Melbourne, Australia;
• First Hive, an intelligent customer data analytics platform based in Bangalore, India;
• Good for Food, a smart dustbin to track food wastage based in Singapore;
• EATLAB, a data analytics solution for restaurants based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Poh Chi Chuan, director, digital transformation at STB, said: “We are encouraged by the quality of ideas presented in the first round of recruitment, and will work closely with industry partners to test the solutions in a real-world setting, with tangible outcomes.

“Through the Singapore Tourism Accelerator, we aim to grow and adapt these solutions to address the specific needs of Singapore’s tourism sector, and help our stakeholders stay ahead of the competition.”

The companies in the accelerator will undergo a series of workshops and networking sessions and will be paired up with industry partners such as Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World Sentosa and the Gardens by the Bay to test their solutions.

In December 2019, they will be subject to further assessment by STB, Found8 and industry partners to determine if they are ready to move on to the next phase, where they will pilot their solutions.

Those selected will receive funding support of up to $25,000 each for their pilot. By the end of the programme in March 2020, these selected teams will demonstrate their solutions and present the outcomes of their pilots to industry stakeholders and potential investors.

Ms Grace Sai, co-founder and head of corporate innovation at Found8, said: “The collaboration between start-ups and industry players to pilot these solutions could lead to some real breakthroughs.

“With the involvement of Singapore’s tourism and hospitality heavy-hitters, as well as the commitment from the nine selected companies, we are confident that the Accelerator will increase the chance of success in these pilots.”

STB plans to recruit three more cohorts for the Accelerator programme, with the next call for applications opening in November 2019.