Silicon Valley's Plug and Play teams up with Abu Dhabi entities to boost start-ups in travel, hospitality
By Fareed Rahman / The National
Abu Dhabi: Plug and Play, the largest start up accelerator in the world is collaborating with Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as well as Etihad Airways and the Department of Culture and Tourism to boost start up ecosystem in the UAE in the travel and hospitality sector.
“ADGM is excited about the new Plug and Play ADGM’s start-up programme for the travel and hospitality sector and looks forward to collaborating with the corporate partners and start-ups,” said Dhaher Bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, CEO of the Registration Authority of ADGM during a press conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
“This new venture dovetails with ADGM’s commitment and ongoing efforts in advancing the UAE and Abu Dhabi’s blueprint to boost the competitiveness and attractiveness of the business environment, particularly, in empowering and supporting start-ups and innovators from the tourism and key industrial sectors.”
The accelerator programme will commence in the third quarter of this year with the first batch of selected start-ups beginning their work from ADGM office in Al Maryah Island. Plug and Play is aiming to attract start-up firms from across the region as well as from other parts of the world.
The development comes as Abu Dhabi and other emirates take new measures to boost tourism sector in the country. Currently, the tourism and hospitality sector accounts for 5.4 per cent of the UAE’a GDP and is expected to maintain this share over the next ten years.
In addition, the Mena region as a whole is expected to receive over 195 million tourists by 2030 with new hotel and leisure projects currently under development to meet this demand.
Source: gulfnews.com