Published on : Tuesday, February 11, 2020
“Imagine, as a traveller, instead of following a tour guide that takes you past busy and crowded sights, at fixed starting times and most likely with a large group — play a city discovery game, at your own pace, on your own time, off the beaten path and notice details you’d otherwise miss,” said Kristina Palovicova, CEO of Secret City Trails.
Such an experience is what the startup provides through its “discovery games,” gamified tours that directs the travelers to a local and hidden spots of the city. Players decide the city and game of their choice then obtain the start location and connect to the web app through email. During the games, players follow strange directions and resolve location-based riddles through the app.
Established in Amsterdam and based in Lisbon at present, now the startup offers over 120 games for 50 European cities plus Singapore. All trails are set up by locals; the platform provides a no-code framework for setting up a discovery game. The local creators receive compensation for creating a trail and each time their game is sold.
“Sustainability is part of our business. We want to support creative locals and help them benefit from tourism in their cities. We’re also passionate about ensuring our trails go off the beaten path — helping to spread tourism — and that we give back to local businesses along our trails,” explained Palovicova.
Tags: Transavia Ventures