Abstract
This article introduces virtual crowdsourcing platforms as a new means to enrich the tourism industry. The “Open Innovation Südtirol” community platform, explored in this study, shows how to integrate external designers, enthusiastic consumers as well as tourists regardless of their geographical location, in an idea and design contest for small enterprises offering souvenirs from the local tourism region. First, we introduce the idea of virtual crowdsourcing platforms for (very) small and medium enterprises and the requirements of designing such a platform. Second, we will share details on the souvenir design contests in terms of user engagement, design submissions, virtual as well as geographical distribution, as well as the dispute with the tourism topic. Third, we will discuss how crowdsourcing platforms can be used to establish intense brand relationships and generate positive word-of-mouth that aids/assists in the merchandising of user-generated souvenirs. This article will provide a holistic view towards understanding crowdsourcing initiatives in the tourism sector, starting with the generation of ideas culminating in the merchandising of souvenirs.
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LVH—Landesverband der Handwerker.
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Füller, J., Hutter, K., Koch, G. (2016). Crowdsourcing in the Tourism Industry: From Idea Generation Towards Merchandizing User-Generated Souvenirs. In: Egger, R., Gula, I., Walcher, D. (eds) Open Tourism. Tourism on the Verge. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54089-9_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54089-9_19
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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