Carioca innovation: Tour Carioca is finalist of the National Tourism Award 2025

The application of heritage education and tourism Tour Carioca, already recognized by FIRJAN and the programme Small Business & Big Business, was selected as finalist of the National Tourism Award 2025, in the category Valuation of Cultural Heritage in Tourism. The ceremony takes place on December 4, in Brasilia. The indication highlights the role of Rio on the national scene, reinforcing the advance of the city in the areas of culture, tourism and technology focused on historical heritage.

More than a tour guide, the Carioca Walk functions as an interactive platform that creates a real immersion in the city's heritage. Using geolocation, deep historical contents and gamification elements, the app offers an innovative experience for residents and visitors, stimulating learning and discovery in a playful way.

The recognition in the National Tourism Award is added to a series of achievements that demonstrate the relevance of the application for the cultural and tourist development of Rio.

Main achievements and recognitions of the Carioca Walk app:

• Small Business & Big Business (TV Globo): the app was featured in the april 5 edition, presenting its proposal of gamification and incentive to cultural tourism;
• Riotur Chance: officially recognised as a “city road map”;
• Innovation programmes: second place in Innovatur, initiative of the Municipal Department of Tourism in partnership with FIRJAN;
• Start-up ecosystem: elected among TOP 10 city-techs by 100 OpenStartups, strengthening its presence in the urban innovation sector;
• Fostering innovation: approved in the notice FAPERJ/HUB RJ Startup 2025;
• Expanding thematic scripts: more than 60 courses on architecture, literature, memory of the black population, among others;
• Impact on trade and urban revitalization: stimulating the center's trade and encouraging the visitation of little known historical buildings.

The prize and the carioca differential

Competing with projects from Minas Gerais and Pernambuco, the Carioca Walk represents Rio at the end of the National Tourism Award. While other regions focus mainly on archaeological sites or physical interventions, the Rio differential is to transform the city into a large interactive open-air museum, connecting culture, mobility and technology.