Compete Shark Tank-Style for the 2019 ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award

If you think your travel business is noteworthy and you’d like a $10,000 cash prize to prove it, you may want to apply for the 2019 ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

The 2019 ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award will be a live “Shark Tank” style competition with three finalists on Tuesday, August 27 at 3:15 p.m. at the ASTA Global Convention 2019 in Fort Lauderdale.

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Finalists will have five minutes to pitch to a panel of travel experts and industry veteran judges, which includes key-note speaker Randi Zuckerberg. The judges will then question the finalists regarding the strengths, weaknesses and innovations of their concept, business or product.

Judges will cast a vote for one of the finalists, as will the live audience. Following the tally of the votes, the winner will be announced on stage and win $10,000.

To apply to be one of the three finalists, complete an online application and include a 500-word description on your contribution to entrepreneurship in the travel industry and how it relates to the eight categories of the evaluation criteria: sustainability, evolution, experiential travel, proven impact, curation, marketing, growth and technology.

You’ll also need to film a five-minute video of yourself and your product or service, upload it to a file sharing site and share the link with ASTA.

All applications must be received by ASTA no later than June 1, 2019.

Keep in mind that you can nominate someone else's business and not your own. Whether you are applying or you’re nominating another business, only those who are travel advisors, agency managers, suppliers and others in the travel and hospitality industry are eligible to receive the award.