How can you attract more Dutch visitors for a canal tour operator that organizes cruises through the Amsterdam canals? For this challenge, client Stromma.com enlisted the help of Tio's second-year students of International Tourism Management. In an exciting (online) final today, the students put their best foot forward and presented their ideas to the jury!
Tourism innovation in practice
During the 5-day Tourism Business Innovation bootcamp that took place (online) this week, Tio's tourism students delved into the world of tourism innovation. Normally, pre-corona, about 3.7 million visitors annually take a cruise through the Amsterdam canals, mostly international tourists. But, channel tour operator Stromma wondered, how do we attract more Dutch visitors now? Fortunately, the Tio students knew what to do! Today during the final they presented their concepts with which Stromma can attract more Dutch people.
High level during online finals
Laptop on? Check. Webcam and microphone on? Check. Due to corona, the final also took place completely online. That meant: presenting on your own in front of your webcam while your fellow students and the jury members watched live. Quite exciting of course! But the bar was no less high and the most promising ideas came up during the professional presentations. The students were well prepared!
Jury happy with creative ideas
The students were judged by a jury consisting of professionals from the tourism industry, including Carola Hoekstra, CEO at Stromma, and Frank Oostdam, director of the ANVR. They also noticed the high level of the students in this final! Jury: “The students approached the case very professionally, the presentations were of high quality. It was very interesting to hear all the creative ideas, the students really thought out of the box. We are impressed with what we have seen today!”
And the best idea came from...
The final ended with an award show announcing the winner. But before that, the students were first treated to a mini show by DJ Kav Verhouzer. And then the moment was finally there. The first prize went to… team 6, with Jaimy Betlehem, Rachel Hahn, Larissa Kraaijenbrink, Helen Wu and Milou Sengers. With their idea, Stromma's Crazy 48, they combine the gamification trend with existing hop-on-hop-off tours of Stromma through the Amsterdam canals. For € 3.50 extra per ticket you can play your own route through Amsterdam with all kinds of challenges.
Carola from Stromma: “This team came up with an innovative concept that is interesting for a wide audience. Easy to implement and easy to sell. You can tell they really thought about all the details. The jury unanimously agreed! ” Team 6 won an 'open boat VIP tour' by Stromma, of course through the canals of Amsterdam. Congratulations!