Date: Wednesday 8th July @9:00AM - Friday 9th July, 2020 @4:00PM (BZ Time)

Duration: 48 hrs

Venue: Online

Theme: "Open Data: Enabling Belize Tourism Post COVID-19"

We invite and encourage innovators from the public sector, civil society and civic tech, and anyone interested in the topic, to participate in this online Hackathon competition and explore ideas staged under the theme “Open Data: Enabling Belize Tourism Post COVID-19”.

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Tourism is a priority sector for the Caribbean and represents the primary economic activity for many Caribbean Islands with significant contributions to GDP through foreign exchange earnings, job creation and economic stimulus through linkages with other sectors. In 2018, the region hosted 29.9 million tourists and 28.9 million cruise passengers with an estimated expenditure of US$38.3 billion. The Belizean economy is no exception with the tourism industry contributing up to 39.3% of all jobs and making up over 37.2% of the GDP.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, regional and international tourism has experienced a severe economic downturn. As Caribbean countries seek to re-open their borders, Governments will have to strategically address the situation with proactive measures for tourism to regain socio-economic stability after the pandemic. Innovative solutions regarding destination options, value-added services, safety and hygiene measures, will be of key importance in meeting and managing tourists’ expectations.

With tourism being an Information-Intensive sector, effective access to data and information provides the basis for awareness, choice, security and improved service delivery between the prospective tourist and local operators. The DevCA-Belize2020 Hackathon will focus on solutions for the utilization of open data in tourism to promote destinations, highlight value-added services and improve safety and security. Potential solution areas include:

• Tourist Travel & Stay

• Health Security & The Visitor Experience

• Domestic Tourism

This Hackathon is organized in collaboration with OAS, The Trust for the Americas, DevCa, Beltraide, the Statistical Institute of Belize, UWI Open Campus, Belize Tourism Board, and the Economic Development Council as part of the Belize Open Government Steering Committee.

Breakout sessions will be organized online so contestants can gather as teams to participate in the competition. An awards ceremony will be organized and prices distributed to the winners.

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Prizes:

1st place BZ$`1,000

2nd place BZ$600

3rd place BZ$400

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For any question or additional information, send a message to arobin@trust-oea.org

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