Over the years we’ve seen civic leaders turn to the crowd for a number of things. For instance leaders in Moscow turned to the crowd for ideas on how they could improve the city last year with the launch of What Moscow Wants.
“We want to find out how the city can be improved from the bottom up. We want people to think about how they can influence the city. This culture is only beginning which means we’re not waiting for the government to take control.” Olga Polishuk, project manager for the project said.
The Vienna Tourist Board have similar ambitions for their recently launched open innovation competition that is seeking ideas on how the city can better serve tourists. The project forms part of the Vienna 2020 project that is looking at the future of the city.
Civic leaders want Vienna to remain an attract destination, both for tourists and inhabitants, so the crowd has been invited to submit their ideas as part of the 2020 project. The project managers are hoping for a wide range of opinions, from both ‘experts’ and regular people on their personal expectations of the city.
“This opens up a big range of topics and questions – such as: “How would I like to get there?”, “Which means of transport would I like to use and where would I like to stay?”, “What would I like to experience?”, “What is missing in this city?”, “What could enrich my travel experience even more?”, “How can this city cover my wide range of needs best – from food to information?” etc.” the managers say.
Winners of the competition will receive an all expenses paid weekend for two in Vienna, staying at a 4-star hotel in the tallest building in Vienna. Entries will be judged by a panel of judges from the cities international strategy board, with the closing date for entries March 18th.
Suffice to say, this isn’t the first time a tourist board has turned to the crowd for support. The Swedish tourist board famously opened up their @Sweden Twitter account to residents on a weekly rolling basis in a bid to showcase the talents and diversity of the country to the watching world. In a world where we increasingly leave feedback and suggestions on the places we visit, it seems inevitable that such requests for improvement will continue.
You can enter the competition here, or watch the video below for more information.
Interesting stuff, Adi.
I think we will be seeing more and more of these crowdsourcing initiatives in tourism and various verticals, as social media and collaborative platforms now enable this more than ever. Quebec City has been doing its own version of this, and many destinations are now embracing Instagram, where locals and tourists alike share pictures, moments of their experience in the city.
Won't be long until we see many more cities and territories asking people for advice, comments or insights through these digital platforms. Interesting times, that's for sure 🙂
Yes, and of course, these kind of services are almost the tip of the iceberg. Here in London for instance, there is a number of sites offering user generated 'gems' that don't tend to appear in tourist guides.
Couple that with the huge number of reviews already given online and there's a treasure trove of feedback from people on what they're finding valuable.
Sounds cool. I hope Boris is watching!
He has been notified via Twitter.