WTM London 2018 is hosting a unique day-long challenge, organised by The Digital Tourism Think Tank (DTTT) on November 7 that puts teams against each other to solve overcrowding in some of Europe’s busiest destinations.

Working with I amsterdam, the destination challenge that asks teams from start-up hubs, tech communities and innovation centres, alongside destination, industry and academia to use design thinking to come up with a solution to overcrowding in these popular tourist hotspots.

Applicants are invited to apply for their spot by filling out an application form and explaining why this topic is important to them. Applicants will then be sorted and arranged into teams ahead of the day to allow for additional preparation and research. On the day, the teams will then listen to real-life case studies from Amsterdam before getting on with the challenge and finding a solution to: How can we overcome the challenge of overcrowding in tourism hotspots and spread the value of tourism wider?

Speaking of the destination challenge and the opportunity it poses for all involved, Nick Hall, DTTT founder, said: “This is a truly unique gathering of some of the brightest minds from within, and also outside, of the travel industry. For challenge participants, the opportunity is unprecedented; to pitch solutions to a hugely engaged audience of leading destination and industry professionals in the Europe Inspiration Zone. The winning team get to take their ideas to #DTTT Global 2018 in Helsinki, take part in Slush 2018, the world’s leading start-up event and have the chance to prototype their ideas with the world’s leading destinations. The Challenge Host, Amsterdam, can tap”

The day itself has allocated times dedicated to each stage of the Design Thinking process, allowing the challenge to be broken down and given dedicated time to solve. There are five core stages of the Design Thinking sprint process, which are:

1. The teams use empathy to understand the challenge – Key industry mentors and leaders immerse the teams in the challenge by sharing perspective and thrashing out initial problems.
2. Teams start narrowing down, organising and clearly defining the needs – Teams organise problems into groupings and drill-down in-depth on data and insight gathered from expert meetings.
3. Intensive ideation, teams thrashing out ideas on possible solutions – With extensive knowledge gathered in the morning sessions, teams put all their ideas together, clustering and voting on those to take forward.
4. Take one idea forward and developing initial prototype concepts – Teams select one idea to intensely develop and show how a minimum viable product would look and function should they win.
5. Pitch solutions to a panel of judges on the Global Stage for voting – Each team has seven minutes to pitch their idea before the panel of judges.

The Challenge Host cities, as well as WTM London and DTTT experts, will be on-hand throughout the day to offer guidance, feedback and advice before each team pitching to a panel of judges at the end of the day. The judges will be assessing each pitch based on the strength of their solution, how realistic it is to launch, how creative their approach is and how long it is likely to last. The winning team is invited to #DTTTGlobal in Helsinki this year to pitch their winning solution to industry experts and DMO representatives from all over the world.

WTM London, Conference and Seminar Manager, Charlotte Alderslade, said: “Ideas Arrive at WTM London and this session on overcrowding is the perfect example of how the event looks to tackle the industry’s biggest challenges and come up with solutions.”

How can we overcome the challenge of overcrowding in tourism hotspots and spread the value of tourism wider? The challenge takes place all day on November 7, kicking off at 08:00, with the final round of pitching happening at 15.00-16.30 in the Europe Inspiration Zone.

Submissions for applications to take part in the session close on October 24. Apply at https://www.thinkdigital.travel/challenge/ . -TradeArabia News Service