Updates from the Small Scale Actions of the Tourism-friendly Cities URBACT network

One of the main outputs our partners cities have worked on in the last period is the development of the Small Scale Actions.

The Small Scale Actions are pilots that enable cities to experiment new innovative solutions, while engaging the local stakeholders on effective ideas. The aim is to test at least one action per city, contributing to the development of the local Integrated Action Plans, as cities have the chance to see in reality if an action works or doesn’t work, before including it in the plan.

In most of our cities this new format succeded in boosting stakeholder engagement and testing innovative actions.

Partners have worked on different pilots linked to the tourism recovery, contributing to give an overview of possibile fields of actions that can be explored to relaunch tourism worldwide.

The possibility to promote alternative tourist routes and the enhancement of the outdoor offer has been tested by the city of Genoa with its plan “The historic aqueduct tour”. The historic aqueduct is an impressive structure built to water the city at the beginning of the 1200's and then expanded and improved until the middle of 1600. The aqueduct operated until the middle of the nineteenth century; some of its 40 kilometers have disappeared with the growth of the city, but there are long stretches that can be walked on foot and by bikes. This type of tourism makes it possible to promote alternative areas of the territory to the city center and discovering all the urban area avoiding the concentration of tourist in some hotspots. Several tourist activities for different target groups can be organized in the city encouraging tourists to stay longer in the city, in contrast to hit-and-run tourism.

Also the city of Dubrovnik with the “Pilot boat tour” wanted to test new strategic routes to avoid overcrowd in specific parts of the city. They wanted to experiment if it’s feasible to introduce maritime route to public transportation, to unburden the crowdy streets that link the port to the Old Town. The impact on the city would be significant in many levels: economic, social and financial, but first it would support sustainable development of the city by testing new mobility solutions during tourist season, acceptable to both visitors and citizens, and reducing the negative impact on the environment and existing infrastructure. This kind of SSA shows which are the opportunities for the city in managing and solving one of its biggest problem, traffic jams and crowds, in a sustainable and innovative practice with high level of residents’ inclusion and visitors’ contribution, who are the main target groups of the SSA.

Another approach to promote both different tourist routs and social inclusion is the SSA tested in Druskininkai, called “Druskininkai without Limits?” In 2020 at the event “Lithuanian Change 2019” evaluating the approach to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market, Druskininkai was awarded the nomination of the most friendly city for people with disabilities. For this reason the city wanted to go on and to test how friendly for the tourists and local residents with disabilities could be.

This small scale action allows to assess how friendly Druskininkai city is for people with disabilities and to identify the problematic aspects (architectural barriers, uncomfortable pathways, parking spaces, accessibility of lodging spaces, information and marking system, etc.) of Druskininkai from the point of view of visitors and citizens. The action fosters the culture of inclusion and tolerance, focusing on tourism for everyone and promoting better quality of services for all tourists and local residents.

Finding new ways of communicating with locals and tourists is one of the challenges that many cities are facing nowadays. The cities of Venice and Rovaniemi, with their SSA, are trying to solve this problem focusing on specific aspects that might be interesting both for residents and tourists.

The phenomenon of high tide is something that affected Venice in specific periods of the year. It is a natural phenomenon linked to the tide flow but most of the time it’s perceived by the city visitors as a flooding depending on bad weather conditions. The frequency of acqua alta has increased from fewer than 10 times a year to more than 60 times a year in the last century due to the sea level rise. These events, especially when they are exceptional, have consequences on the tourism sector. The SSA focuses on the topic of better communicating the phenomenon in the historic centre of Venice and in particular on making tourists changing their perception about it. The SSA consists in the production and dissemination of 6 short videos through the social media channels to communicate 6 specific key messages: the nature, the duration, the consequences of the phenomenon, the proper behaviour to take during the phenomenon, the measures taken during the events, passing the message that the city is safe and accessible even during the high tide season.

In Rovaniemi the weather conditions are extreme during many months of the year and there are also specific aspects linked to how to live in such a particular environmental that many visitors are not used to see in their cities. For this reason, the city of Rovaniemi wanted to test a specific app for mobile phone that would provide information on important aspects such as safety, waste disposal, and recycling. It would also give information on local peculiarities like how to dress in the cold climate, how to move on the ice and also different tourist attractions in the city. Knowing how to cope with and behave during the stay means to respect the city and its natural and artic environment and not obstructing the development of other social and economic activities in harmony with the daily life of residents.

A new approach to the use of public spaces can also be one the possible solutions to the needs of promoting a new sustainable tourism offer in our cities. The cities of Cáceres and Dun Laoghaire are testing something very interesting on the topic.

The Cáceres Biomercado is a street market of local producers from Cáceres Ribera del Marco that take place in Cáceres Plaza Mayor as a way to connect the periphery and the Historical Centre of the city and to raise knowledge among citizens and tourists about local products, fostering their value. The characteristic of this market is that its stands must follow uniform and aesthetic criteria and the products to be sold have overcome a selection process. The aim is to use public spaces to attract high quality tourism, create events to gather both citizens and tourists, highlighting potential of suburbs. In this way a market can raise the value of local products and local producers, starting new economic activities and, at the same time, revitalizing public areas.

In Dun Laoghaire Blackrock Village was a pathfinder project implemented in the summer of 2020 for how the village center can be reinvented in response to the covid pandemic challenge. It recognized that the pandemic has changed the manner in how people shop, recreate and socialize.

The SSA focuses in an area of the street that had poor levels of ground floor activity and which required additional animation. Blackrock is known for its local Market which provides speciality food outlets and a mixture of second-hand shops selling recycled clothes records and curiosities. Unfortunately, the market has limited street frontage and consequently no real presence on the street. The idea of the SSA is to enhance the use of public spaces by providing a way for market traders to trade outside on the street. In this way it would provide animation on the quiet area of the street while adding to the visitor experience.

The importance of the involvement of citizens and residents in raising the awareness on the potential of tourism is at the core of the work that the cities of Krakow and Braga are experimented.

“Your Krakow. Walk and snap with us” is the SSA promotes by the city of Krakow that aims to discover how the local community can get involved in creating an innovative guide of the city and also how important is a good use of social media to promote the city.

Social media has changed every single aspect of our lives, including the way we consume. These developments have significantly affected also the tourist market and social media impact on tourism is seen in the ways people research before going on a trip and on how people are encouraged to share their travel experiences. Since, social media has transformed the way people make decisions, this action aims at promoting an effective use of social media, especially Instagram, as well as encouraged residents to experience Krakow from a tourist's point of view, promoting the best places to see and to live.

The “Enjoy the City like a Tourist” SSA experimented in Braga wants to raise awareness through an educational program that includes the local community. The action helps them to become more involved in tourism development as entrepreneurs, employees and as local touristic promoters. These local participants are also encouraged to take advantage of the city as a whole, through the knowledge of the available cultural activities and monuments, and their historical context, as well as the quality services that reflect the heritage and tradition of the city and region. Raising local awareness of the touristic interest of Braga can make the city more welcoming and promote continued positive contact among citizens, tourists and tourism-related services.

Sabrina Bruzzone - Communication Officer, Tourism-Friendly Cities APN