BERLIN TO USE MOBILE DATA FOR TOURISM ASSESSMENT
Last year, Berlin decided to tackle problems with overcrowding at some of the German capital’s most popular spots. Burkhard Kecker’s visit to Berlin was aimed at making tourism more city-friendly, focusing on the cooperation between the company and Berlin’s twelve districts. Moreover, the Tourist Board is going to analyze the mobile data.
There are about three new cycle routes in the southwest of the city to strengthen the districts. In addition, the smartphone app “Going Local Berlin” has been re-released, according to VisitBerlin. Among other things, the digital offering now includes over 700 excursion suggestions beyond the usual travel guide recommendations.
For this, VisitBerlin has developed a “Berlin Modern” tour for the Bauhaus anniversary this year. Of the 51 proposals submitted there, 39 are located on the outskirts of the city, as Kekar confirmed. It has also been announced that in the future the city would like to provide more money to clean up the parks. By 2021, the amount will increase to 14 million euros.
Visit Berlin also wants the districts to develop their concepts to attract more visitors and increase tourist flow. A seven-member team is now regularly exchanging data with individual districts. The aim is to achieve a change based on the latest visitor flow data in the city which will be provided by the telecom subsidiary.
The subsidiary will test mobile data from the Deutsche Telekom network. Destination, age range and nationality of tourists are recorded. All this complies with data protection laws and is in agreement with the authorities, as confirmed by the company’s CEO.
In the following years, Visit Berlin will spend more than 200 thousand euros to get a little closer to tourists. Burkhard Kecker initially views mobile data surveys as inventory. Based on the numbers, the company also wants to make recommendations for routes in the city.
Apart from the flow of tourists, the authorities also want to take a closer look at the hotel scene. There will be more new housing developments in the suburbs in the coming years.
