HTH's Sustainable Hospitality Challenge meets WTTC Global Summit

The winning team of the Sustainable Hospitality Challenge (SHC), which took place in September during the Future Hospitality Summit in Abu Dhabi, is invited to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit in Rwanda on 1 - 3 November 2023.

The World Travel & Tourism Council was formed in the late 1980s with the purpose to ensure that the Travel & Tourism sector remains seamless, secure, safe, inclusive, and sustainable whilst working to a greater public/private sector collaboration. Since its inception, the WTTC has been promoting the importance of businesses balancing economics with people, culture, and environment, governments recognising Travel & Tourism as a top priority, and the shared pursuit of long-term growth and prosperity.

In just a few days, from 1 to 3 November 2023, the 23rd edition of the WTTC Global Summit - the most influential Travel and Tourism event of the year - will take place in Kigali, Rwanda. During the event, industry leaders will meet with key government representatives to continue aligning efforts to support the sector’s recovery and move beyond to a safer, more resilient, and sustainable future. Some of the keynote speakers of this year’s summit include Zurab Pololikashvili (Secretary General at UNWTO), Nelson Boyce (Managing Director of Travel at Google), Sébastien Bazin (Group Chairman and CEO of Accor), and Frederico J. Gonzalez Tejera (CEO of Radisson Hotel Group) among many others.

In this year’s WTTC Global Summit edition, the winning team of SHC from the scientific-technological university Politecnico di Milano will be present. The remarkable quartet of Giulia Ettori, Rosanna Caldarella, Davide Grasso, and Elisa Schembri, the first-ever engineering-only team to win the competition, captivated the all-star SHC jury earning the first place with its innovative, sustainable, and feasible concept. Inspired by the natural processes within oysters, their hospitality concept "Hòstraka" invites guests into breath-taking luxury intertwined with sustainable innovation - a Sustainable Pearl Experience. Hòstraka is more than a stay; it is a unique journey where guests submerge into nature while playing a crucial role in reducing ocean pollution from microplastics.

Attending this Summit presents the winning team with a lucrative opportunity to expand their horizons, gain insight into the industry’s pressing issues from global and industry leaders, as well as expand their professional network with valuable connections.

Join us in celebrating and supporting this phenomenal team from Politecnico di Milano as they navigate this prestigious global scene, pushing the boundaries between technology, sustainability, and hospitality!

Building on the success of this year’s challenge with the introduction of cross-disciplinary teams, the SHC will expand even further in 2024 featuring more Tech, Design, and Engineering teams from all over the globe. That is not the only notable addition to next year’s competition; participants will be tasked to design concepts which are both sustainable and investable, bridging the gap between feasibility and innovation. To accommodate the growing cohort of participating universities, for the first time ever, SHC will host regional semi-finals in stunning locations, such as Thailand, the USA, and Switzerland.

Stay tuned for all the exciting updates about the upcoming Sustainable Hospitality Challenge on LinkedIn and Instagram.