Sponsored by the Dan and Gloria Bohan Foundation
The 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year Award is Open for Applications
Are you passionate about your new travel endeavor? Do you have an idea that will change the travel landscape? This is a great opportunity for travel advisors, agency owners, travel technology start-ups, travel suppliers, and more! If you have a dream, we want to help you make it a reality.
Three lucky finalists will appear on center stage at ASTA Global Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 2-4, 2023, to participate in a LIVE competition to see who will win the $10,000 cash prize. Each finalist will have three minutes to make a pitch to the audience. Over a thousand travel professionals will be watching your presentation and will cast their vote to determine the winner.
The Entrepreneur of the Year Award was established in 2015 by the Dan and Gloria Bohan Foundation to promote the entrepreneurial spirit in the travel and hospitality industry through recognition of innovators who have either established their own businesses or who have been responsible for significant entrepreneurial initiatives within an existing organization. Each year, the Foundation, in conjunction with ASTA staff and membership, selects one person or organization that best exemplifies this spirit of entrepreneurship to receive the Award and a $10,000 cash prize.
All travel agents, agency managers, suppliers, and others in the travel and hospitality industry are eligible to receive the Award.
Nominees for the Award will be evaluated based on consideration of eight benchmarks demonstrating various aspects of the successful candidate’s innovative and entrepreneurial approach to the business and its future. The benchmarks, in no particular order, are as follows:
1. Continuity.
How many years has the nominee been active in the travel industry? How many consumers or companies use the nominee’s innovative product or service?
2. Evolution.
How has the nominee or the nominee’s company adapted to change in the industry or market, and to changes in technology? Why was this important and how was it accomplished? What steps are taken to ensure that the product or service remains relevant?
3. Experiential Travel.
Does the nominee’s product or service have an experiential fit, focus or component connecting the experience to history, people or culture? Describe and explain its importance in today’s world and for the future of travel.
4. Proven Impact.
How has the product or service already had a demonstrable impact on travelers and the industry as a whole? Why will the innovation continue to impact travelers in the future?
5. Curation.
Does the nominee envision himself or herself as a travel curator, one who makes travel more meaningful for the traveler? If so, please tell us and explain why this is important to the nominee.
6. Marketing.
Describe how the nominee markets or merchandises its company and its products or services. How does the nominee differentiate itself from others in the industry? Has social media factored into the marketing focus?
7. Growth.
Has the innovation had a positive impact on the company’s sales, profitability, or market share? Has the product or service spawned imitators?
8. Technology.
Describe the technology behind the product or service. For example, does the solution include the use of mobile apps or similar recent innovations? How has product usability been a factor?
Entries will be accepted online beginning on January 31, 2023 and ending on March 20, 2023.
Persons or organizations that wish to be considered for the Award must submit all of the following:
A selection committee comprised of seasoned travel industry professionals jointly chosen by ASTA and the Foundation will review each complete submission that is received on or before the entry deadline stated below. Applying the stated evaluation criteria, each committee member will then rank the submissions in order from highest to lowest. Entrants receiving one of the five highest aggregate scores will be named as semi-finalists. In connection with the next stage of the competition, the videos and narrative statements of the five semi-finalists will be posted on a members-only ASTA webpage for viewing by ASTA members.
Each of the five semi-finalists will be included in a poll posted on a members-only ASTA webpage. After reviewing each nominee’s video and narrative statement, members will have an opportunity to cast their vote for the candidate that they believe best exemplifies the spirit of entrepreneurship in travel. The poll will open at 9:00 a.m. EST on April 3 and close at 5:00 p.m. EST on April 7.
The candidates receiving the highest, second highest, and third highest number of votes will be designated as finalists and move on to the Entrepreneur of the Year session at AGC to compete for the $10,000 prize. The non-finalist with the greatest number of votes will be designated as an alternate and will be invited to participate at AGC should one of the three finalists be unable to attend.
The three finalists will participate in a live competition at AGC. After a brief introduction of the participants, each finalist will be given approximately five minutes to make his or her presentation. Our Master of Ceremonies and fellow entrepreneur, Sandra McLemore, will then question the finalist regarding the strengths, weaknesses, and other aspects of the innovation or concept, and why it is worthy of being judged the year’s best representation of entrepreneurship in the industry.
Following the presentations and questioning, each member of the audience will be entitled to cast their vote. The finalist receiving the greatest share of total audience vote will be declared the winner.
Applications must be received by ASTA no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on March 20, 2023. Incomplete applications, or applications received after the stated deadline, will not receive consideration.