Wondering in what new ways can social media, a conference and a plane be connected?
While the latest surveys show that about half of airline passengers are interested in booking destination-related services while flying, the airlines’ ability to take advantage of the extended in-flight touchpoint with Wi-Fi implementation, provides even further marketing opportunities to reach flexible, spontaneous travelers and not only. Still, there are definitely more opportunities that remain untapped.
Take for example the case of the world’s first conference kick off on an airplane!
The Social Media Tourism Symposium, known as #SoMeT14EU, is making its debut in Europe by aiming high – 35,000 feet above ground.
It will actually be very interesting to see if this could be the start of new perceptions in conference organization and the entire MICE industry.
On April 8, SoMeT and Finnair kick off the conference at Helsinki Airport and then take to the skies aboard a Finnair plane.
Conference delegates arrive at the Helsinki airport in time to connect with Finnair flight AY429 to Rovaniemi, where the conference continues on April 9 and 10.
Finland’s airport operator, Finavia hosts a welcome reception in the airport at ‘Wine & View’, where delegates can check in and collect their SoMeT name badges. The first keynote presentation begins on the inflight entertainment system once the plane reaches cruising altitude.
SoMeT is the only conference of its kind that provides an opportunity for destinations and tourism businesses to share ideas and learn more about how to leverage social media within the tourism industry.
“As an airline connecting Europe and Asia and seeking growth especially in the quickly growing Asian market, we’re constantly looking for new ways to utilize social media. We hope to learn from the speakers as well as provide inspiration for the attendees in return. I’m sure the airline conference will be a fun event, and we’ll make our outmost to make our guests feel welcome in Finland, the coolest destination there is at the moment,” Aku Varamäki, Social Media Manager from Finnair, says.
Rodney Payne, CEO of Think! Social Media, the digital marketing agency that produces the SoMeT conferences says: “We’re very excited about this world-first conference launch on a plane. SoMeT is already one of the most progressive marketing conferences for destinations around the world, and now we’re taking SoMeT to new heights.”
We cannot wait to experience this first hand, as abouTourism will be amongst the speakers at the #SoMeT14EU!
On April 9-10, the Social Media Tourism Symposium (SoMeT) is coming to Europe for the first time. This is the premier event for tourism boards and destination marketers who are interested in how social media has created new marketing opportunities and challenges for destination marketing organizations.
SoMeT has run for four years in the USA and after recently expanding to Australia, SoMeT is coming to Europe in April, 2014 too. This is an amazing opportunity for destination marketing professionals to attend a world-class event.
At ENTER2014, we caught up with the CEO of Think!, the company behind the event. Apparently, there’s a very big development in the works for this year’s event.
‘This year, we’re excited to be holding SoMeT Europe in Rovaniemi. We’ve got a very exciting development in the works, that’s going to be a world-first involving an airplane and a lot of social media!’
AbouTourism will be there, as Manolis Psarros is one of the SoMeT14EU speakers and we look forward to seeing you there as well.
Stay tuned for more information in the next few days.
As we wrap up 2013, it is time to take a look at some of your favorite and most read articles from this past year.
During this past year, abouTourism offered insights on destination marketing and the latest developments, highlighted the latest trends to shape the industry and shared best practice cases showcasing successful destination development, management and marketing strategies.
It’s been an amazing year and we want to thank each and everyone for your trust and support as we are getting ready for an even more exciting 2014!
These are the Top 5 abouTourism blog posts that we loved most in 2013!
Slovenia, through the Slovenian Tourist Board (STB) has a well developed digital presence promoting the country as a tourism destination. In order to raise awareness of Slovenia as a high class and attractive winter destination, STB launched an innovative winter campaign with the support of abouTourismand Mindworks, and we are excited with the results!
A simple and to the point campaign with easily spreadable content, creating word of mouth, while involving multiple user segments, including locals, professionals, potential travelers and social media influencers.
What does it take for emerging sea cruise destinations to establish themselves in a highly competitive market?
A response provided by abouTourism consultants, as part of a report prepared for the ‘United Nations Development Programme – Black Sea Trade and Investment Programme’ (UNDP BSTIP), is that individual destinations, physically coupled in a large geographical zone, are not going to benefit from cruise passengers visiting these localities unless they set common targets and coordinate their efforts.
When content is king and there are multiple channels to distribute various types of content, how can we make sure that the right message appears at the right people at the right time?
Today that travelers are using a combination of offline/online sources and platforms throughout the travel buying cycle, it is crucial to develop integrated, multichannel marketing campaigns as a result of proper strategic planning. Right content at the right time means appropriate messaging per channel, smartly using available tools which will all come together to complement the overall destination brand.
DMOs are called to utilize any given opportunity to pull their audience deeper into the destination’s brand, by being active content distributors, combining traditional promotional tools and marketing activities in smart ways which place excellent content where their target market is.
As a fact, major events can have a major impact on the visitor economy of their host destinations, but it is up to the destination tourism authorities to set how much. It is also up to the destination to think outside the box and try to capitalize on every single – or set of- strength and assets it has to support its tourism marketing efforts. In a few words….Go bananas…
When the royal baby was born, we took a look at how UK tourism agencies approached this special event to capitalize on the world wide interest, marketing the royal birth and the whole destination at the same time.
The agreement signed with ETOA, has a dual purpose for the tourism product of Metropolitan Athens and the destination’s efforts to strengthen the international image of Athens in the global tourism community. Firstly, this is the first intervention of such scale and importance after many years and with partner one of the most dynamic institutions in the European market, who trusts the city and its formal structures, such as the ADDMA. Secondly, it makes evident that Athens, as a city break and business destination, continues to be a very interesting and attractive option with promising growth prospects.
The WTM Global Trends Report 2013 was just launched during London’s WTM 2013, in association with Euromonitor International and highlights the emerging trends from around the world.
A global overview presents the following key findings:
The global economy is expected to record 3.1% growth in 2013, a stable performance compared to 2012.
The IMF predicts global GDP to grow by 3.8% in 2014, thanks to positive growth in the Eurozone, the economy picking up in the US and a further increase in emerging markets.
The long-term economic potential of the BRICs and other emerging markets remains solid and is expected to drive positive performance of the global economy over 2015-2017.
Global tourist arrivals and inbound spending are predicted to continue to be vital over the 2012-2017 period, boosted by increasing demand from emerging markets.
Advanced markets are recovering after the difficulties experienced since the crisis with tourism flows and spending from the US, Japan and Europe returning to growth.
Online travel agencies are growing in importance, with Expedia and Priceline dominating this space. Players from emerging markets are also gaining ground, like the Chinese online travel agency Ctrip.
Mobile travel bookings are becoming significant globally, reaching double-digit shares of online sales for some key players in the online travel agency and hotel categories in 2012.
The Global Trends Report 2013 reveals how travel players are differentiating and innovating their products and services, all while embracing social media.
Non-traditional demographic groups are emerging with PANKs ‘Professional Aunt, No Kids,’ a new target market in the US, while child friendly and multi-generational safaris in Africa are growing more popular.
We see that business models are adapting to suit customers’ needs, where low-cost carriers are going upmarket in the Middle East and hotels offer microstays. Peer-to-peer continues to make inroads despite legislative hurdles. The lure of the East grows apace with cruise operators diving into the Chinese market.
Social media channels are important to improving the customer experience, as seen with the emergence of the mobile concierge, while in India, social channels are giving online travel companies’ sales a welcome boost.
Here are the main identified trends per region:
Americas: PANKs– A New Demographic
The travel industry is starting to cater to the ‘Professional Aunt, No Kids’ demographic.
UK: Travel Happiness Index
Routehappy.com provides a unique measurement of customer satisfaction via its happiness scores for airlines.
Europe: Next Generation Peer-to-Peer Travel
Peer-to-peer travel services are recording strong growth in Europe, offering authentic experiences at affordable prices.
Middle East: Low-Cost Goes Upmarket
Middle Eastern consumers have a penchant for luxury, which has led LCCs to introduce business class-style services.
Africa: The Big Five with Your Little One
Child-focused safaris in Africa are becoming more popular, driven by demand for multi-generational holidays.
Asia: Fight for Cruise Control in China
China is set to become a key market for cruise companies as this new type of holiday rises in popularity.
India: The Travel Social Shake-Up
Indian online travel players are using social media more effectively to target young urban consumers.
Global Village: Vacancy on Demand – Chasing the 24-hour Traveller
Microstays have emerged as an attractive means of boosting hotel revenues, by targeting business travellers on the move.
Travel Technology: Mobile Concierge
Travel companies are increasingly using mobile channels to satisfy customers’ needs before, during and after the trip.
You can find the Full WTM Global Trends 2013 report here
and check out TrendSpotting 2013 for all the latest Tourism & Travel Reports
2012 has been declared as the year of integrated online & offline marketing while digital technology is nowadays at the epicenter of the tourism experience.
Since the budget of a DMO and its allocation are determined in relation to the benefits which it ultimately brings to the destination and of course to its stakeholders, the fact that the majority of the marketing spent is now being allocated to the online presence and digital applications, shows among others the importance of a targeted digital marketing strategy.
According to “2012 DMO Marketing Activities Study”, a new research conducted by Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), destination management organizations (DMOs) are making “significant” investments in digital marketing, although they still spend a majority of their budgets on traditional marketing vehicles.
For the purposes of this benchmark study on DMO marketing practices, primarily in the leisure travel market, DMAI surveyed 240 DMOs from around the U.S and found that print advertising accounts for 33% of the typical DMO’s leisure marketing budget, while TV and radio advertising account for 8% and 5%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Internet marketing accounts for 30%, according to DMAI, which said DMOs have spent more than $39 million on website and mobile app development in the last three years.
According to DMAI, half of responding DMOs market internationally, and those who do invest one-third of their marketing budget outside the United States — mostly in Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany, which were identified as the most popular countries where DMOs are marketing.
“In order to reach these and other global consumers, more than ever DMOs are integrating their online activities, especially social media, into their overall marketing efforts,” DMAI reported. “Banner ads and search engine marketing dominate the online spending landscape, and almost all responding DMOs said they were present on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.”
Further illustrating DMOs’ increased spending on Internet marketing is the fact that more than three-quarters use a Content Management System (CMS) and almost half have at least one staff person devoted to website content management.
When it comes to mobile, meanwhile, half of DMOs have or plan to have a destination app by the end of 2012, and almost all have or plan to have a mobile version of their website.
As far as results are concerned, the study found that DMO’s new group room bookings grew 4.8% last year; a total of 35.6 million group room nights occurred as a result of DMO sales and marketing efforts; while, in the 275 markets where DMOs are active in group sales, DMOs represented 19%, or 1-in-5, of all group room demand in 2011.
Meanwhile, at the other side of the Atlantic, the European Cities Marketing (ECM) reports that 56% of DMOs have an annual budget higher than 5 mil., whereas 50% of their marketing budgets is allocated online.
For an online reputation management program to be successful at a destination level, it is clear that Tourism Boards and DMOs need to follow an organized and methodical approach. Setting clear objectives, communicating it to all stakeholders and coordinating their activity while having integrated the program with existing marketing and operational activities are the basic steps to success.
This post focuses on Greece as a tourism destination and on the most recent initiatives taken at a national, regional and local/city level towards the targeted promotion of tourism on key strategic themes and using online reputation management practices.
Meanwhile, abouTourism is glad to have contributed to the development of three of these projects.
Online Reputation Management & Brand Monitoring Mechanism for Greece
The Greek National Tourism Organisation (G.N.T.O) has recently introduced “True Greece“; an Internet-based initiative which aims to further promote the positive publicity of Greece as a tourist destination online, especially utilizing social media.
True Greeceis a dynamic web based platform which is fully integrated in the existing marketing plan of the organization. This tool is utilized to directly clarify through facts, any existing “inaccuracies or speculations” that concern the wider operational and service environment in the country as well as the safety and security levels at Greek tourism destinations.
The mechanism has been designed to allow the organization to track, register and manage accordingly all comments, reviews and observations that refer to Greece as a tourism destination on an ongoing basis. The Internet and social media applications are already being used very successfully by the G.N.T.O to post news and to communicate the tourism “brand added value” of Greece. “True Greece”aims to further promote the positive publicity of Greece as a tourist destination online, utilizing effectively social media platform network externalities.
The initiatives’ key priorities are a) the promotion and communication of key elements and competitive advantages of the Greek tourism product and b) the promotion and dissemination (through social media) of positive messages/opinions that visitors have about their experiences (via video spots, web testimonials, reviews, posts, tweets). Based on these priorities a content strategy was developed mapping the target media and providing the basis for customized content and activities to be constantly disseminated to third party channels.
In line with the real time and social nature of the project, the following phase of the initiative calls for support from volunteers who tweet and share the truth about Greece by responding to inaccuracies or speculations they may come across online. «True Supporters», is a team of volunteers responsible for monitoring and responding to online comments and mentions regarding Greece as a tourist destination. The «True Supporters» idea is based on the concept that the most effective response to negative mentions and inaccuracies is provided by real people that feel passionate about the destination.
The third phase of the project saw the development of a Facebook campaignwhich invites users of the Visit Greece Facebook page to create their own “True Greece” photo album, by selecting their favorites from the existing picture gallery of Greek destinations and win their True Vacations in Greece. The prizes comprise of vacation packages with return air tickets and 4-day accommodation for 2 for 150 lucky winners and the deadline has already been extended to the 27th of August due to high levels of participation.
As far as cooperation and coordination goes, the initiative is already being supported by a series of government agencies including the Greek Radio Television S.A., the Athens News Agency and the Hellenic Foreign Ministry. The agencies will be assisting the effort by tracking and gathering news and other related material as well as working with local, national and international media outlets.
abouTourism is glad to have been assigned to develop the concept as well the content planning & creation strategy for this initiative in partnership with Mindworks digital marketing agency (Business Unit of ATCOM).
The Athens Convention Bureau has just released its first ever promotional video for the business tourism product of the City of Athens as part of its action plan and strategic direction towards the further development and promotion of business tourism.
Through the eyes of a business traveller visiting Athens for 3 days, viewers can get a glimpse of all the city has to offer in terms of conference, accommodation, and public transport facilities, as well as cultural, gastronomic, and other leisure activities.
Through the video we are invited to follow the delegate during the conference participation, site inspection, and sightseeing in the historic and cultural center of the city, the gastronomical journey and the Athens coastline. The video features over 20 locations and facilities in the Athens center and the greater surrounding area.
The video spot showcases the business tourism product of Athens under five key strategic themes; the Olympics heritage and specialization in congress and events organization, the business product at the city center and the surrounding areas, cultural heritage, conference facilities and additional activities at the coastal zone of the city as well as regenerated industrial multi-purpose venues.
Event planners are informed of the wide selection of modern infrastructure, and can choose from 40 conference and exhibition venues, more than 379 meeting rooms as well as satisfy any accommodation requirement from 695 hotels around Athens. Furthermore, they are invited to take a tour around unique sites and museums of world cultural heritage, sample refined and modern Mediterranean cuisine and explore activities for every taste and of the highest standards.
This is MY Athens, the visitor greeters program for the City of Athens celebrated 1 year of successful operation in July.
This is My Athens is free program available to visitors to Athens and staffed by volunteer Athenians who are excited to show visitors “their city” and all it has to offer.
Launched during a challenging period at a national and local level, during which tourism- an industry the destination is relying heavily upon- was also affected, the This is MY Athens program, a concept and developed by abouTourism, was greeted with unprecedented enthusiasm from Athenians and has received strong interest from the city’s prospective visitors during this time.
During this year we have organized numerous exciting events to keep the Athens Locals’ engagement and excitement high about the cause of the program. One of the activities was a special flash mob-like- event which was organized at a central city square. The event came alive with the participation of Athens Locals as well as the delegates of the EuroXpro 2012 Conference, organized by AIESEC in Athens, who first experienced a walk with Athens Locals.
A few days ago celebrating the program’s ‘birthday’, all Athens Locals were also invited to celebrate along with visitors, joining us all to a special birthday event which included a lot of music and special happenings!
We are glad to see that Athens Locals are as excited as ever to show even more parts of their favorite city to the world. At the same time the dedicated surveys show that Athens visitors are appreciating more than anything the opportunity to discover parts and secrets of the city that they would not have been able to discover without the help of a local.
‘Incredible Crete’ Promotional Video for Reputation Management
The Region of Crete has just released a series of promotional videos showcasing that life in Crete is as beautiful as ever.
The videos attempt to directly tackle some key perceptions which have been formed and reproduced by mass media, inviting visitors to visit and “See for yourself, feel for yourself”.
The videos featuring the island have been uploaded on YouTube and Vimeo, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. They are also currently being aired on the Travel Channel, the leading international travel broadcaster, with which the GNTO (Greek National Tourism Organization) is already collaborating.
The MICE industry is reportedly experiencing a ‘moderate growth’ through out 2011 and into 2012 as the need for international corporate presence increases.
As companies are now ‘savvy’ at seeking out deals, to remain competitive, suppliers will need to understand their business customer and be able to provide added value to their accommodation, travel and facility offerings.
Key trends include the identified need for better collaboration between planners and suppliers, good quality venues and facilities, and greater content for MICE. Being able to meet corporate social responsibility requests will give providers a competitive edge, sustainability will remain a key objective for companies, and growing usage of technology is already visible within the industry.
A number of reports highlight the potential increase in the industry ‘dabbling’ with virtual channels and social media. Technology and alternative virtual channels are predicted to become more mainstream as interaction, innovation and ‘connectivity’ become more important, perhaps changing the way the industry works and communicates. The online environment is no longer seen as a threat to the live event circuit, but as a tool to deliver a greater impact and involve even more professionals.
So, how have destinations recently used this environment to attract business tourism to their area?
Tourism Ireland’s Twitter Tour for MICE
Tourism Ireland’s British office recently announced a new business tourism promotion offering senior executives a chance to win a tour of Ireland by Twitter.
In collaboration with the International Special Events Society (ISES) and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Tourism Ireland launched a competition aimed at senior executives involved in the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) sector. The prize on offer is a ‘t’weetour’ – a tour of Ireland that can be followed on Twitter.
Members of ISES and ICCA who are active in social media are being targeted to enter the competition. Three winners will be selected to travel to Ireland this month, courtesy of Tourism Ireland, and each will have their own itinerary. Winners are invited to live tweet their experiences in Ireland, highlighting the country as a destination to their network of colleagues in the industry.
Tourism New Zealand has just introduced a new campaign to internationally market the business events sector. “Beyond convention” is the creative territory that will provide an umbrella theme for all Tourism New Zealand’s destination marketing material for the business events sector.
A sneak preview of the theme and marketing material was revealed at MEETINGS 2012 at SkyCity in Auckland.
Tourism New Zealand’s General Manager Marketing Communications Justin Watson said it is the first time a creative theme has been used by the organisation for this sector. “…Beyond convention can be applied across the sector – for meetings and conferences, convention relates to the event. In the incentives space, it is more about promoting that there is nothing conventional about an incentive trip to New Zealand.”
The theme will be rolled out promoting New Zealand across a range of concepts such as “beyond the meet and greet”; “beyond the morning break” and “beyond the cityscape”.
Source: www.tourismnewzealand.com
Visit York 4 Meetings
Visit York, the city’s official tourism agency, hasjust launched a new business tourism brand: Visit York 4 Meetings.
The changes will also see the first ever ‘Visit York in London’ meet the buyer event, aimed at attracting conference buyers from London and the South, as well as a number of international business tourism marketing opportunities in partnership with Visit England.
Other projects the Visit York 4 Meetings team are working on include the Conference Ambassador Programme with 30 Ambassadors on board, a dedicated sales day working with York venue sales staff to drive business conference bookings to the city and a programme of exhibitions and workshops promoting York’s conference venues.
The Reinvention of “I Love NY” logo with Crowd Sketches
New York just launched a new tourism campaign featuring a reinvention of the iconic “I Love NY” logo.
For the first time ever, the State has asked New Yorkers and visitors to help remake the “I Love NY” logo by submitting personal sketches depicting what they love about New York State (The “I Love NY” logo has not been used in television ads in over three years).
People can replace the heart in the iconic “I [HEART] NY” logo with their own drawing of what they most love about the state and submit it online where they will be displayed in an online gallery. It is the first time in nearly 40 years, since the logo’s inception, that New York State has officially asked the public for their interpretations of the “I Love NY” and for the reasons they love New York.
Select drawings may be used to replace the heart in “I Love NY” in new ads focused on New York’s many different experiences in future campaigns.
The new “I Love NY” ads are part of a $5 million tourism marketing campaign within the larger “New York Open for Business,” a $50 million statewide business initiative. The “I Love NY” ad campaign is expected to expand to feature other tourism seasons in the future.
Tourism Ireland to Londoners: “Escape the Madness”
While this summer’s Olympics promises to be a very exciting time in London, the event will inevitably draw huge crowds which will undoubtedly make commuting – and day-to-day life in general – more hectic for Londoners. Tourism Irelandwill seize this opportunity – targeting hassled and weary Londoners – and present Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland as the ideal “escape” destination during this busy time.
Over 8 million people living in London will see Tourism Ireland’s “escape the madness” ad campaign this month, featuring an image of a wonderfully peaceful Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge. From next week, ads will run on the London underground, highlighting the open spaces and lack of congestion there; over 200 large ads will appear at different tube stations across the city, targeting frustrated commuters during morning and evening rush hours. Ads will also appear in the Evening Standard, the popular free daily newspaper which is read by millions of commuters each day, again with a message urging people to “escape” to the beautiful landscape and open spaces of Northern Ireland.
Social media will also help create awareness; a campaign on Facebook (Tourism Ireland has almost 120,000 fans across GB) and Twitter (over 2,300 followers) saw Tourism Ireland post status updates on the Olympic Torch Relay around Northern Ireland this week and messages will be posted regularly before and during the games. The hashtag #Escapethemadness will be used to create plenty of lively conversations about the island of Ireland on the social networks in GB.
A specially-created web page on discoverireland.com is also promoting the torch relay, as well as the key sporting events and festivals. A series of itineraries for the thousands of accredited and non-accredited media visiting London from across the globe has been developed while Tourism Ireland is also working closely with key tour operators in all overseas markets.
The latest phase of Tourism Australia’s global marketing campaign, There’s nothing like Australia, has just launched in China – Australia’s fastest growing and most valuable overseas tourism market.
With a clear digital focus, Tourism Australia will spend approximately A$180 million over the next three years rolling out the evolving campaign in its key international markets and in Australia. It expects to achieve a total investment of A$250 million by securing up to A$70 million in additional funding from industry partners to support joint marketing activities, aimed at promoting Australia with a clear and consistent voice.
In addition to a new broadcast ad and print executions the campaign boasts a strong digital and social media focus, and will leverage the advocacy of Tourism Australia’s three million Facebook fans. Other elements include a new, interactive tablet app and hub on www.australia.com. Tourism Australia has created an interactive tablet application which is unique in both concept and content. With inspiring multimedia content and intuitive functionality, to take customers further into the stories played out in the ad and provide more information on the locations.
Tourism Australia is seeking the involvement of the Australian industry in the campaign through partnership opportunities and by sharing campaign tools and resources.
The soundtrack for the ad, “It’s Like Love”, is the result of a unique musical collaboration last year between the two musicians who wrote the composition as part of Tourism Australia’s multi-award winning Making Tracks campaign.
Fresh and creative initiatives harnessing the power of digital media and tools designed to maximize engagement while following an integrated marketing approach.
VisitBritain Digital Torch Relay
Taking advantage of the Torch Relay journey across the UK, VisitBritain has just unveiled its digital and social media plans aiming to maximise the exposure of the relay destinations.
The ‘Follow the Torch’ map uses new integrated Google Street View technology so that followers across the world can see images and explore torch locations before they decide whether they want to visit.
Destination content will be added each day as the journey progresses.
Images and inspirational content will be posted via VisitBritain’s online network. All of VisitBritain’s digital platforms will be involved, with engaging content posted on Love UK – VisitBritain’s main Facebook page which now has nearly 800,000 fans, and has recently been named one of the biggest brand pages in the UK.
VisitBritain’s Super Bloggers will be joining the Samsung torch relay truck on key dates of the journey, capitalising on the unique access to tweet, blog and create stories that highlight towns and cities across the UK.
There will be live tweets from consumer site @VisitBritain, where VisitBritain’s corporate page will post a tweet a day to celebrate the 70 day marathon with each tweet offering insightful information about the area it will be passing.
VisitBritain will also be producing an app on Love UK which will enable all fans to pass virtual flags around the world. Users will be encouraged to keep passing the digital flag to Facebook friends in an attempt to build up points. The flag with the most passes will win a prize provided by one of VisitBritain’s key strategic partners.
Monmouth in Wales has become the world’s first “Wikipedia town”.
The project is called ‘MonmouthpediA‘ and was created after Wikipedia UK and Monmouthshire County Council teamed with the city’s library, museums and volunteers to work on the project. The entire town has been behind the project; partners include 200 businesses, several universities and nearly every school and community group in the area. The project has been in the works for six months, helped along by the local council’s installation of town-wide free Wi-Fi. Talking about the power of willingness.
Visitors will be able to use smartphones to scan barcodes at points of interest in Monmouth in Wales’ southeast, instantly bringing up a Wikipedia page about the landmark on their phones, in whatever language they are set to. Hundreds of articles about the life and history of the town will be available online in more than 26 languages, from Hindi to Hungarian.
The town has now installed over 1,000 QRpedia codes all over the town. This includes ceramic or metal plaques on public buildings, as well as smaller labels for inside buildings, and for labelling particular objects. And local shops also have glass stickers in their windows to give information on their professions.
As the ‘official’ Wikepedia page states :
“MonmouthpediA aims to cover every single notable place, person, artefact, flora, fauna and other things in Monmouth in as many languages as possible. Monmouthpedia belongs to and can be contributed to by everyone. It involves people from all around the world collaborating to share their knowledge through text, photos video and audio Wikipedia gives our work a global audience. We are the first town in Wales to have free and open wifi available to everyone. We use QRpedia codes around the town to give people easy access to content in their own language.”
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