The initiative, led by Visit Värmland together with Compare and Karlstad University’s Centre for Service Research (CTF), started in January 2024. By focusing on sustainable and scalable services for the tourism industry, and using data-driven innovation, the project aims to increase the tourism industry’s ability to collaborate, innovate and attract.
How we will reach the targets
A new digital matching service will be developed to facilitate the creation of new services in the hospitality sector. This service uses AI to cluster common needs of businesses and organisations, and matches them with companies and startups that can offer or develop solutions. By sharing investments and collaborating across company boundaries, we make the innovation process more efficient and reduce risk for all involved.
Innovation arenas for collaboration and networking
A key element of the project is the establishment of innovation arenas, i.e. real-life test environments where tourism businesses can test possible solutions, collaborate and network. These arenas are provided by partners from both the business community and municipalities. So far, the following municipalities and companies are partners:
- Karlstad Municipality – Business and Tourism and the Department for Digital Development and Innovation
- Hagfors municipality
- Bomstadbaden campsite
- Mattila leisure
- Karlstad city centre
Expected results
When the project ends, it should have contributed to a more innovative tourism industry that creates more accurate and sustainable products and services with the help of data. To succeed in this, data needs to be made available as a resource for Värmland’s smaller operators – which is another important task for the initiative.
Funding and partnerships
The initiative is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and is part of the Academy for Smart Specialisation – a strategic partnership between Compare, Visit Värmland, Karlstad University and Region Värmland.
Funders
