Melco Hosts Demo Day, Driving Innovation in Tourism Startups!

Melco Resorts & Entertainment continues to fully support the Macau SAR government’s sustainable and high-quality economic development plans for historical area revitalization. To further optimize the revitalization work of the Inner Harbor district Piers 23 and 25 and its surrounding areas, the Company has collaborated with Portuguese consulting company Fábrica de Startups to identify revitalization proposals from global start-up companies with the aim to inject innovation into the historical area revitalization project.

Melco hosted a Demo Day for the “Innovation and Acceleration Program for Tourism Startups” at Studio City today. The program’s top five scoring start-ups were invited to share their unique creative ideas for the revitalization of historical areas — to help enrich Macau’s tourism and cultural resources and promote the economic development of the areas. The Company was honored to welcome Mr. Tai Kin Ip, Director, Macau Economic and Technological Development Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government; and Mr. Chan Ka Leong, Director-General of the General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau (UGAMM), as the event’s judges.

The “Innovation and Acceleration Program for Tourism Startups” was launched in June this year and received more than 200 applications. Participating companies come from Macau, the Greater Bay Area, Portugal, Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries, with submitted plans covering subjects including tourism exploration, interactive experiences and sustainable development. The first phase of the review process was conducted in July and August, with selection criteria being projects’ innovation, uniqueness and the promotion of sustainability. The five start-up companies with the highest scores were awarded a total of MOP300,000 in prize funding.

Mr. Clarence Chung, Melco Board Director, said, “A variety of creative solutions were generated through the program, bringing invaluable inspiration to the revitalization work of Inner Harbor Piers 23 and 25 and its surrounding areas. The program has enabled participating start-up companies to use Macau as a pilot city to gain experience and interact with the industry. We look forward to integrating the results of this event to create a more distinctive cultural area, to inject new impetus into invigorating the neighborhood economy, further enhancing Macau’s position as a “World Centre of Tourism and Leisure”, and contribute to the city’s diversified economic development.”

The five participating start-ups with the highest scores and their proposals are: