Future Founders Competition challenges shifting trends in global tourism

Tiếng Việt

Future Founders Competition challenges shifting trends in global tourism

The latest competition by RMIT Activator Vietnam saw students propose new and sustainable solutions for travellers.

First launched in 2019, the Future Founders Competition is the highlight of entrepreneurial activities across the RMIT campuses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Each year, Future Founders competitors are given a real-world challenge statement and coached throughout the solution ideation process. The most promising of the pitches win exciting prizes and the chance to take the idea further.

This year, the Future Founders Competition took place with 41 teams, all consisting of current RMIT students, who competed over the course of five weeks.

In 2019 tourism accounted for 12% of Vietnam's GDP. During the pandemic, domestic travel has kept the Vietnamese travel sector afloat as international tourism resumes. Under the lens of local and global tourism, Future Founders participants were instructed to inspect and identify gaps in the current state of Vietnam's tourism industry.

The challenge statement they were tasked with finding tangible solutions for was: “How might we reimagine not only the tourism industry but also the ones that will be directly and indirectly impacted, so that it maximises positive impacts and seeks to take care of the environment, society, and economy?”

This year’s challenge statement aimed to get competing students to think about the ongoing trend of transitioning into ‘sustainable tourism’, which takes into full account the current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, and addresses the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.

The winning team of the 2022 Future Founders Competition, The Incredibles, standing together with the judges and leaders of the RMIT School of Business & Management, wearing face masks and holding a novelty cheque..

The winning team of the 2022 Future Founders Competition, The Incredibles, together with the judges and leaders of RMIT School of Business & Management.

Let’s explore the three winning ideas:

Winners: The Incredibles

The champions of the 2022 Future Founders Competition – The Incredibles – won for their application, Trekk-in.

Hiking and trekking, an eco-friendly tourism activity, is gaining in recognition. However, there is still a limited number of tourists in this sector due to lack of safety and difficulty in following the trails and finding water and accommodation.

The idea behind Trekk-in was to connect tourists with local guides who are well-versed in the area. By doing this the team proposed the tourists can benefit from better safety and local knowledge, while the guides can earn direct money from the jobs.

First Runner-Up: The Wanderlust

With the population of senior citizens increasing, there are more opportunities for tourism actors to tap into the segment. Seniors have more disposable income, flexible time schedules and rising demand for wellness and experience. This group of customers welcome slow, more sustainable and fulfilling activity-based tourism.

The Wanderlust’s platform, IndieGo, addresses their needs by helping them find the best fit for their next vacations, grouping tourists with like-minded companions and delivering seamless experience from booking to check out.

For most people, aging means declining physical health, disconnection from the community, and a slower day-to-day routine. The team challenges those norms with the slogan: “50s is the new beginning of your journey. We help you travel slow, and age slower.”

Second Runner-Up: Otto and Kevin

In dealing with the increasing demand of new types of tourism products, Team Otto and Kevin came up with their solution, WiE. WiE’s mission is to connect groups of travellers with locations needing philanthropic supports.

The travellers' experience is maximised through an emphasis on travel flexibility, enjoyability, and natural-social sustainability.

WiE would gain revenue from three main sources: packaged services, commissions and advertising fees. The business would also undertake intensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities which cover nine out of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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If you’d like to follow the activities of RMIT Activator Vietnam and see where the winning Future Founders teams take their ideas with ongoing support, sign up to the RMIT Activator Vietnam newsletter.

Story: Charlotte De Rieu

Business and management

Media Release

06 September 2022