Deadline Date: August 23, 2026
The Open Innovation for Hospitality programme connects startups with hospitality companies in Portugal to support innovation that enhances efficiency, sustainability, and guest experience.
The focus areas, of this programme include smarter hospitality operations, enhanced tourist experience, data-driven decision-making, revenue optimisation, predictive analytics, sustainability, resource efficiency, automation, and guest-centred service innovation.
Tourism Advance is an open innovation initiative designed to bridge startups with hospitality companies across Portugal, including hotels, hostels, resorts, short-term rentals, and other accommodation providers. The programme enables startups to transform real industry challenges into pilot opportunities through structured collaboration.
Selected startups work directly with hospitality operators to define use cases, test assumptions, and develop solutions with strong market potential. The programme focuses on helping the sector become more efficient, sustainable, intelligent, and guest-focused through practical innovation.
Key innovation areas include improving operational efficiency through automation and workflow optimisation, enhancing guest experience across the customer journey, strengthening data use for revenue and demand forecasting, and advancing sustainability by reducing energy, water use, and waste.
The programme also provides startups with structured support including bootcamps, mentoring, and expert guidance to refine pilot designs, validate assumptions, define success metrics, and increase the likelihood of long-term commercial partnerships.
Participants benefit from direct engagement with hospitality companies actively seeking innovation, enabling startups to address real operational needs and gain meaningful feedback from industry stakeholders.
For more information, visit Tourism Advance.
