From 21 to 23 October, Turismo de Portugal and Fábrica de Startups promoted the Ideation phase of the 4th edition of the Tourism Explorers program, held, for the first time, in São Miguel, through NONAGON - Science and Technology Park of São Miguel and InUAc - Incubator of the University of the Azores, as partner entities.

This edition, which took place simultaneously in 12 cities in the country, had three teams in São Miguel that, during the three days of bootcamp, worked on ideas aimed at improving the customer experience, competitiveness by digital means and combating the seasonality of dispersion geographic.

The jury, composed of representatives from NONAGON and InUAc, decided to move the three teams to the Acceleration phase that will start on the 5th of November, where the business models will be tested and validated.

Launched in 2017, Tourism Explorers has already involved more than 730 entrepreneurs, spread across 17 cities, and has contributed to the development of more than 290 startups. And, according to the most recent Impact Report, 60% of the startups that participated in this program remain active (but in different phases), 23% received some type of investment (43% say they received private investment) and 13% managed to internationalize their own business (with the largest concentration being on Spain and Brazil).