UNWTO awards bitemojo for serving up culture, one bite at a time

Earlier this month the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in cooperation with the Basque Culinary Center (BCC), announced the winners of the 1st Global Gastronomy Tourism Startup Competition. The competition highlights innovative initiatives that are advancing gastronomy tourism and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. More than 300 projects from over 84 countries were reviewed and five finalists from Japan, Spain, Israel, Italy and the Czech Republic were selected. 

Two winners emerged after finalists pitched to investors, gastronomy tourism experts and sector stakeholders on 3 May at the 5th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in San Sebastian, Spain. bitemojo, a member of WYSE Travel Confederation based in Israel, was one of those. bitemojo, a husband and wife startup, was awarded a special recognition from UNWTO General-Secretary, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili and Mr. Joxe Mari Aizega, Director of the Basque Culinary Center.

Co-founder Michael Weiss shared his excitement with WYSE Travel Confederation.

“bitemojo was recognized for being an innovative immersive food experience that is able to bring both the digital and physical experience to a smartphone and already caters to thousands of global customers in a short period of time,” said Weiss.

“The UNWTO competition emphasized the importance of cultural preservation and digitalization, which bitemojo is excelling in. Every bite claimed through bitemojo means financial support from international travelers to the people who need it the most in a destination- the long tail of small- and medium-sized local food businesses.”

Reflecting on the importance of the competition for the future of culinary tourism and cultural exchange, the bitemojo team is still hungry for more.  

“This UNWTO award is especially important for us as we were selected and awarded among 300 other great companies worldwide, said Michael Weiss. “it is a huge belief in our vision to change the way people travel- the bite way”.