Travel Trailblazers: Top Global Finalists Shortlisted for Trip.com Group's Tourism Innovation Awards

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Jul 11, 2025, 04:22 ET

Shortlisted nominees include Las Vegas' the Afterlife show at the Sphere, London's ABBA Voyage, Giza's Grand Egyptian Museum and Tokyo's teamLab Borderless
Final top ten award winners to be announced end July, with a total prize pool of USD $1.4 million

SINGAPORE, July 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Meet the future of travel – Trip.com Group has released the top contenders for its Tourism Innovation Awards, as the selection process enters the final stages to select outstanding projects driving tourism growth globally. Notable international projects in the running include the Afterlife show at the Sphere (Las Vegas), ABBA Voyage (London), Azabudai Hills teamLab Borderless (Tokyo) and the Grand Egyptian Museum (Giza).

First announced at the Group's Envision 2025 Global Partner Conference, the global awards aim to honour and spur outstanding innovation in tourism across fields like sustainability, technology and cultural heritage. Based on Trip.com Group data, the top nominated projects have been a strong catalyst for tourism, driving an average of 51% increase in destination orders and 42% increase in destination search volume, measured year-on-year within the first three months of opening.

Trailblazing the Path of Tourism Innovation

One of the top-voted international projects on the list is the Afterlife show at the Sphere in Las Vegas, widely popular for its immersive audiovisual experience that has redefined the boundaries of live entertainment. Using the Sphere's unique 16K LED dome screen as well as state-of-the-art technology, audiences are immersed in a sensory experience that transcends reality. Likewise, the ABBA Voyage concert in London has earned a spot on the nominated list for blending ABBA's classic music with virtual technology to create an immersive performance for music fans.

Also making the list is the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, which has attracted global visitors since its soft opening last year. The museum's vast collection of over 100,000 ancient artifacts, innovative architectural design and use of holographic technology make it a strong contender for the awards.

Other noteworthy projects on the nominated list are teamLab Borderless, an immersive digital art museum in Tokyo's Azabudai Hills and the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, which has attracted many gaming enthusiasts to explore its interactive showcase of the evolution of video games.

Innovative, Impactful and Potential for Sustainable Growth

Shortlisted projects are assessed using an evaluation framework consisting of three components, the first being data that demonstrates the project's driving effect on destination popularity. This includes the project's social media influence, as well as bookings made on Trip.com. The second is public voting, which took place from May 26 to June 30. Lastly, the projects will be scored by a panel of judges consisting of industry experts from international tourist organisations and authorities such as the European Travel Commission, Global Sustainable Tourism Council and World Travel & Tourism Council.

Public voting and expert scoring will evaluate the shortlisted projects across these three core criteria, a reflection of the award's objective to support innovation and development in the tourism industry:

Innovation – breakthroughs in technology application, travel experiences, local cultural expression and cross-sector collaboration
Sustainability – positive contribution to environmental impact, employment and community development
Scalability – potential and feasibility of replicating the project's model in other destinations

"Travellers seek authentic, meaningful experiences and are increasingly aware of their environmental footprint. These projects show how innovation and sustainability can go hand in hand to drive growth while preserving culture and the environment. By spotlighting them, we aim to inspire others across the sector to bring forward bold, transformative ideas that will shape the future of Travel & Tourism," said Virginia Messina, Executive Vice President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and one of the expert panel judges.

More details on the top nominated projects can be viewed here. Winners will be announced at the end of the month and the final ten outstanding contributors will each receive a USD $60,000 prize.

About Trip.com Group

Trip.com Group is a leading global travel service provider comprising of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its platforms, Trip.com Group helps travellers around the world make informed and cost-effective bookings for travel products and services and enables partners to connect their offerings with users through the aggregation of comprehensive travel-related content and resources, and an advanced transaction platform consisting of apps, websites and 24/7 customer service centres. Founded in 1999 and listed on NASDAQ in 2003 and HKEX in 2021, Trip.com Group has become one of the best-known travel groups in the world, with the mission "to pursue the perfect trip for a better world". Find out more about Trip.com Group here: group.trip.com.

SOURCE Trip.com Group