Trakios

TRAKIOS is an app for redirecting tourism flow from congested areas to alternative sights and/or areas of interest. It redirects tourist flow by providing information on alternative locations and experiences and using certain level of gamification to motivate users. 

TRAKIOS app uses a B2B, B2G model based on creating and selling tokens for locations where authorities and businesses would like to redirect tourist traffic. The app would be free for individual users (tourists) and would show them alternative points of interests in the vicinity, based on GNSS, but could also be used for holiday planning in a chosen area. In addition, it could show environmental data (e.g. air quality, pollen levels, climate change aspects, protected areas) of the location on the basis of Copernicus data services. Gamification would be used to award certain actions at the location – e.g. for promoting local businesses, for tracking environmental data (taking a photo). High tourism areas vs. low tourism areas would be delineated on the basis of tourism data and in cooperation with B2G clients, and a ceiling would be created to avoid creating overtourism with our app. 

The app addresses the following issues:

• Increased overtourism in the tourism hotspots
• Development of underutilised areas with interesting sights and opportunities
• Support for the increasing segment of environmentally aware travellers

The app has a number of potential other uses. For example, data from gamification could be used for citizens' science (e.g. monitoring by timeline of location photos), it could provide environmental health data for travellers (pollen, air pollution and similar data from Copernicus) and could be used for emissions calculationsfor the travel based on GNSS. In addition, it could be used for support of disaster areas where emergency redirection is needed e.g. in case of fire, flood, avalanches (tourists out of affected tourists areas, volunteers in).

The following EU space technologies will be used:

• Galileo and EGNOS for tracking locations 
• Copernicus environmental data: CAMS (ozone, PM10 and PM2.5, pollen), C3S for climate data, CLMS for land cover/land use data - Natura 2000 sites, riparian zones, forest cover, phenology data, snow cover extent 
• Potentially also Copernicus Emergency Management Service 

The competition in this segment is low. Sustainable tourism apps currently on the market are focused on embedding green routing and sustainable choice options/prompts into their core functions, however work indiscriminately of location. They include all areas, including the tourist hotspots and mostly focus on carbon footprint reduction, other types of environmental footprint reductions (food, plastics), local community-based services and similar. Specialised apps for health data focus on on air quality and similar parameters in tourist hotspots. 

The project has strong potential due to B2G and B2B model: 

• Governments would use it to raise the profile of sights and services in less popular areas, thus reducing overcrowding and conflicts with locals as well as maintaining/creating jobs in less popular areas,
• App could help guide development planning on local/regional/national level,
• Natural and cultural heritage authorities could use the app to redirect visitors to less popular spots, as well as for monitoring by citizens’ science,
• Businesses would find it easier to promote themselves,
• Unique provision of relevant Copernicus environmental data to individual tourist which can beimportant for health as well as environment and climate change impacts,
• App is free of charge for tourists, thus could large volume of end users is expected,
• There is potential to help redirect visitors’ flow in case of disasters and emergency (tourists out, volunteers in).

Our team consists of 4 members with very diverse experience from 2 countries with similar issues of overtourism (Italy, Slovenia) – our team has both fresh brains as well as greyhaired experience!

• Emanuele Costantini and Marco Momo have strong IT developer background. They are the full stack developers, experienced with app and website development design. Emanuele is our architect and Marco is the tech leader.
• Mojca Hrabar is a biologist and environmental manager with experience in nature conservation, sustainable development policies including tourism and multimodal transport, rural/border area development issues. She provides key environmental and tourism governance analystics and developed the business model of the app.
• Matteo Daniel Mezin is a student of Digital Management and has experience with UX/UI. He developed the layout and design of the app.

Repository: https://github.com/Emacost96/trakios_flutter 

ESA data that could be used in TRAKIOS: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qmg4jLjXEyeQNcVlJX-wwHBygP4D2587bIHVyCRMaCs/edit?usp=sharing