Stefano CECI, a graduate in Political Sciences, develops innovative business initiatives for tourism. He is the founder of the GH group a digital start up incubator/accelerator in the tourist sector. Since 2012 he has been carrying our applied research activities for technological innovation in a tourism context in collaboration with Trentorise and the University of Trento. Since March 2914 he has been a Tourism Advisor for the Government.

He is the author of various reports and analyses on the economy of tourism and of the regions. In 2011 he won the National Prize for Innovation with the start up freshcreator.

He is co founder and Chairman of Startup Tourism, the national umbrella association for the 40 best business initiatives in the field of digital innovation for tourism and culture. He is a member of the scientific committee of BTO (Buy Tourism Online). He is a partner of FastPrototypingLab (www.hbecompany.it). He contributed to the Cantforget initiative, awarded the 2012 “best format” Oscar for the Italian web TV category.

He was an expert advisor on tourism matters to the governments of both Prodi and Berlusconi. He devised and set up the National Tourism Observatory. Between 2004 and 2011 he carried out consultancy work for the regions of Emilia Romagna, Puglia, Sardinia and the Autonomous Province of Trento. He was Director General of the APT of the Emilia Romagna Region from 1998 to 2002.