In this keynote, Eric Schütz, from GIZ, and Jost Neumann, from the TUI Care Foundation, present how market-based solutions can create a deeper impact on the community and empower local businesses, thus leading to more sustainable communities.

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Market-Based Solutions for Impact in Tourism Destinations

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This case study will provide you with the highlights of how a market-based solution approach can lead to a longer-lasting and deeper impact on the local community and businesses. It also lays an example of how specialists and experts can offer a new perspective to a challenge and offer meaningful solutions.  

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In this keynote, Eric Schütz, from GIZ, and Jost Neumann, from the TUI Care Foundation, present how market-based solutions can create a deeper impact on the community and empower local businesses, thus leading to more sustainable communities.

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Main Takeaways

• Collaboration between powerful organizations can result in great resources, material and intellectual, for small new businesses.
• Market-based solutions encourage more collaboration between the stakeholders and generate sustainable solutions to the challenges of a particular region or community.
• Empowering entrepreneurs and communities can have a strong positive financial result.

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GIZ is a service provider in the field of international cooperation, being the main implementor for Germany's Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Eric explained that Lab of Tomorrow is a project with no commercial interest that kickstarts businesses and development in emerging markets. They do all of this while promoting sustainable economic development through user-centered solutions which create impact for the achievement of long-term SDG impact.

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He then explained that the creation of impact can either be through project-based or venture-based solutions.

1. Project-based solutions: It means supporting and conducting a project that takes place over a defined timeframe and result.
2. Venture-based solutions: Market-based solutions are kickstarted and the private sector is engaged, but there is a higher risk per solution.

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Eric provided an overview of how Lab of Tomorrow develops sustainable business in collaboration with the TUI Care Foundation. All of the projects they apply are programs of between six months and one year, being sector and region agnostic. He briefly explained the process they go through:

• Phase 1: They thoroughly examine and define the challenge, check where the needs are, and study the market.
• Phase 2:  They bring the enhanced-selected global, regional, and local companies which bring in expertise and resources to the target group, helping them to come together with partners and develop impactful solutions.
• Phase 3: They then ideate solutions with companies, and they then incubate the business of the ventures.
• Phase 4: Finally, with the help of investors, they are leading sustainable development.

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Eric provided a quick overview of the successful case of Maisha Meds, a digital tool for medication procurement, before naming some of their projects across the globe:

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The project they have for Egypt's Tourism sector was developed after the TUI Care Foundation reached out to GIZ due to the lack of skills of the staff. To solve the issue, they focused on six sub-challenges, namely job quality, management training, diversity and inclusion, on-the-job and practical training, pre-job training and re-integration of former staff.

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Through their 'Biodiversity Protection Pays Off Digitally' project in Namibia, also in collaboration with the TUI Care Foundation, they aimed to increase local incomes through jobs dependent on biodiversity and to facilitate the development of virtual tourism products. Their sub-challenges focused on digital wildlife experiences for tourism and zoos, incentivise nature engagement virtually, digital co-creation opportunities for local artisans, gamified biodiversity experiences for gamers and nature lovers, and increased spending for nature protection.

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After Eric's intervention, Jost offered his perspective from the TUI Care Foundation's side as endorser of the Lab of Tomorrow. The TUI Care Foundation is a charitable, independent, donation-based, and destination-focused European organisation.

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Jost then provided an overview of TUI Care Foundation's 2030 strategy, which has market-based impact and venture philanthropy as key points.

• Empower entrepreneurs and communities.
• Attract sustainable and impact-oriented investors to tourism destinations.
• Blending finance with other types of funders.
• Create self-sustaining systems of positive impact.

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He highlighted that the work of the TUI Care Foundation is more than financial support, with them leveraging networks and expertise, offering mentoring, enabling access to market and partnerships, and advocating for further funding.

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The importance of this for new businesses, is as it allows for acceleration, and customer validation at a global level, all while reaching out to international markets.

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