6 Smart City Initiatives You Should Know About from Lyon and Helsinki

Learn about smart tourism initiative from Lyon and Helsinki who were jointly awarded the title of European Capitals of Smart Tourism for 2019.

The European Capital of Smart Tourism is an initiative of the European Union which aims to raise awareness about smart tourism tools, measures, and projects implemented in cities across four categories: sustainability, accessibility, digitalisation, and cultural heritage and creativity.

The 2019 competition gained submissions from 38 cities in 19 EU member states. Here are six initiatives you should know about from Helsinki and Lyon:

1. Discovering Helsinki Like a Local

Traveling like a local is one of the most popular tourism trends. That’s why the Finnish capital created a directory of all the best insider tips, based on locals’ recommendations. The site is a collaborative project with residents, who are always eager to give visitors the warmest of welcomes and authentic experiences.

In the directory, visitors will find, for example, a local shoe designer’s favorite sauna, restaurants and movie theaters, or the former U.S. ambassador to Finland’s top picks for museums, restaurants or libraries.

2. A Library for a Smart Future

Helsinki has nearly 40 public libraries, including the new Oodi Central Library, which opened in December 2018. Besides an online and offline library, the centrally located institution features a café, restaurant, cinema, art, studio facilities and an urban workshop, making room for creative endeavors like sewing, music or art.

Another smart feature is the use of the most recent robot technology, which leaves the library professionals with more time to serve customers. Visitor number speak to its popularity – over one million people visited Oodi within the first six months.

3. All Helsinki Transport Options in One App

Helsinki’s Whim app allows visitors to purchase a ticket for various kinds of local transport – including bus, train, tram but also taxi, car- or bike–share and event scooters and boats – all in one app.

Users can either pay for one journey at a time or subscribe to the monthly package combining different modes of transport, making it attractive for both locals and visitors.

Watch our LIVE webinar replay with Jukka Punamäki, Senior Advisor (Tourism) for the city of Helsinki, who shared more smart tourism projects in the Finish capital:

4. A Sustainable Festival of Lights

Combining popular traditions with technological innovations, the Festival of Lights (Fête des Lumières) is a major annual event in Lyon. For several years, the Festival of Lights has developed initiatives aiming to improve eco-responsibility – the festival only uses 0.1% of the annual energy consumption of the city’s urban lighting.

What’s more, the festival supports artists who take the environmental dimension into account with an award, particular attention is paid to materials, reuse and the transportation of materials and teams in the selection process, more than half of the projects use energy-saving lighting devices, and to lower carbon production, the City of Lyon collaborates with public transportation companies to get visitors into the city for the event.

5. Discover Lyon’s Secret Heart with AR

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Lyon’s hidden passageways (called traboules), allow visitors to enter into the heart of the city. Whereas in the past they required an insiders’ knowledge to navigate, now an app provides geolocation and historical explanations using augmented reality.

With the app, visitors can view the traboules by quarter on a map or list. Using augmented reality, visitors can locate traboules, be guided around them, and see real-time on-screen indications pointing to nearby traboules.

6. Expanding Lyon’s City Center

In a quest to double the size of Lyon’s city center by 2025, while adhering to the climate plan, the former industrial district of Confluence is symbolic of an eco-friendly city focused on the future. Located between the Saône and Rhône rivers, the new district is a showcase for contemporary architecture, it is a laboratory for innovation, such as iGirouette, a smart, digital and electronic signage system.

Learn more about these initiatives on the city websites:

Or read our article on 10 Best Practices for Smart Tourism Destinations

Follow the European Capital of Smart Tourism on Travel Massive to learn more.