Idea for digital travel guide: Münsterland e.V. wins "Hackathon" in Berlin

Anyone planning a visit to Münsterland will soon be able to find customised excursion tips online: Münsterland e.V. has won over the international jury of the "EU DigiTOUR Hackathon", a competition for digital transformation in the tourism industry, with its idea for a new digital travel guide. The prize money of 10,000 euros will now be used to realise the project, which is due to be launched in the summer.

The winning concept is based on an interactive questionnaire which, once completed, delivers all kinds of information directly to the smartphone - personalised and always up-to-date. This innovative travel preparation is linked to the freely accessible Münsterland data portal, which contains countless datasets on sights, events, routes and public transport.

"Every day, we show in a variety of ways what makes our region an attractive travel destination," says Michael Kösters, Head of Tourism at Münsterland e.V. "The success of the 'Hackathon' has now given us an exciting new building block to inspire people to visit Münsterland."

Münsterland e.V. is realising the project together with plazy GmbH, a Hamburg-based IT company that developed the "travel guide to go". "We are very pleased about the collaboration," says Charlotte Seick, responsible for tourism data management at Münsterland e.V. "The project gives our data additional visibility in the digital space. It emphasises the relevance of open data, here specifically in relation to the use case."

plazy was founded by the two journalists Kathrin Sander and Inka Schmeling. "We have long been used to receiving personalised suggestions in other areas - such as dating apps," says Kathrin Sander, explaining the principle behind plazy. "This is exactly what plazy now offers for the Münsterland destination with its variety of castles, palaces and nature experiences: plazy provides travellers with tips that really suit them." Inka Schmeling adds: "With plazy, this works in a very easy and playful way. We want to make travel preparation as 'lazy' as possible."