Horsens is rethinking cultural tourism

VISITHORSENS has just completed testing the project "We Love Having You Here" as one of 10 test projects funded by 'RETHINK Cultural Tourism'. The focus has been on developing the tourism industry by strengthening the destination community while extending the tourist service.

Has the need for a tourist information gone? Not if you ask in Horsens. It just needs to be rethought. And it has been the last six months, where tourism ambassador at VISITHORSENS, Gydde Madsen, has gathered 8-10 very dedicated volunteers with a strong local presence as an ambassador corps. The plan has been to meet the tourists, where they are, instead of letting the tourists come to them. The need to rethink the tourism industry and be present where the guests are is – according to Gydde Madsen – the big difference from the past:

"There is a need for on location tourist services, since today's tourists are very well prepared. Nowadays, they probably read one or more reviews on TripAdvisor; they have Googled almost everything there is to know about a destination, and they may have sought advice from friends and acquaintances on Facebook. This changes the need for tourist information.

Therefore, we try, in addition to our normal desktop tourist information, to meet the guests with our external tourism services, located where the guests are on their journey. We want to accommodate the need for a personal meeting, which I am convinced is still there; just think of how often you as a tourist have asked, for example, local waiters or taxi drivers for advice on specific, maybe even a little hidden, places in the city you are visiting on your holiday”, explains Gydde Madsen. 

15 different tourist branches 
As one of 10 selected test projects, 'We Love Having You Here' has received financial support from ‘RETHINK Cultural Tourism’. The money was used to obtain consultancy support in the form of a feasibility study, where target groups and probable areas of contact - that being where the tourists’ contact needs will typically occur - have been defined.

The study helped select 15 locations in the city, where tourists can expect expert help, distribution of brochures and good hints about the city. These tourist branches are, among others, a campsite, museums, a bookstore, a lingerie shop, a cheese shop and many more. 

To prepare the collaborators properly for the job funds have been earmarked to devise a kind of 'Woodchuck book' filled with information about the Horsens area. That way the voluntary ambassadors also increased their local knowledge and were ready to meet inquisitive tourists. 

At the same time the highly visible glass building The Cube – the city's centrally located "culture house" – was selected as the location for VISITHORSENS own tourist branch. Here, every day during the summer stood two ambassadors from 10-12 o’clock, Monday through Saturday. The ambassadors have been highly visible in the cityscape and have greeted the tourists where they were. Moreover, they have been busy during the high season. Very busy. 

Gydde Madsen has also devoted much effort to get as many as possible of the city's other traders to participate in the project. Here, the goal was to update the front desk staff at the city's many stores, so they too have been ready if a tourist has been in need of help.

Love for the city
It is estimated that during June and July there are 85,000 overnight guests in Horsens Municipality. About half of them are international guests. To give the many tourists the best possible experience Gydde Madsen has gathered a small but strong group of volunteers who all have at least one thing in common. She explains: 

"The ambassador corps consists of about 10 volunteers. The youngest are in their late 20s, while the oldest are in their late 60s. They all share a mutual love of Horsens and they have a burning desire to communicate all the good and exciting opportunities in the area to others. At the same time, they also socialize with the other volunteers. The community spirit and love for the city is very strong in our group," explains Gydde Madsen. 

The volunteers were found through recruitment campaigns on Facebook, poking the network, dialogue with active associations and the municipality. The approach has always been that personal contact should involve more than just an email. It has also been a great help that there already is a strong tradition for cultural volunteers in Horsens. To further establish a common ground within the group VISITHORSENS also organized a bus tour around Horsens Municipality. In addition to the social aspect, this also increased the ambassadors’ knowledge of the city and the rest of the municipality.

What did they learn? 
The test project was recently completed and is now being evaluated. Gydde Madsen can already outline a number of issues where there has been valuable things to learn. They are: 

• A personalized and customized tourist service has proven to be very effective.
• The involvement from the volunteers, the tourist branches and the rest of the traders has strengthened the local base and expanded and developed the tourist service.
• Dialogue with tourists is very important in terms of further developing of the project.
• This fall, a focus group will be established, consisting of both branches and volunteers. The various experiences will be shared and the network in the city should be even better.
• The city must stand shoulder to shoulder and continuously improve the destination community. The whole city will be strengthened so that the service improved. And as long as the service improves, the longer one can hope to keep the tourists in the area.
• The 'Woodchuck book' and the tourist brochure must be updated and developed.
• There should be even more tourist branches. Several of the current ones have already pledged to continue.
• The ambassador corps must retrieve even more knowledge about the area – for example, by having free access to the city's many cultural places.
• A need for further development of the form. Maybe the volunteers should also offer guided tours for tourists in the future.
• One size does not fit all - necessarily. What works in Horsens, may not work elsewhere. It all depends on the destination. Gydde Madsen therefore recommends that other municipalities have made surveys and obtain consulting services before, during and after.
• Finally: 'We Love Having You Here' is to go from a pilot project to a dynamic operation.

At October 1., ‘RETHINK Culture Tourism’ hosts a conference where the results of the 10 test projects are presented. The event is free and open to all and takes place at ‘Centralværkstedet’ from 8-30 - 15.30.

Read more about ‘RETHINK Cultural Tourism’ here (in English).

Gydde Madsen is tourist ambassador at VISITHORSENS. Please feel free to contact her at gym@visithorsens.dk if you have questions about the project.