Worth seeing street art, a digital push in the right direction and a unified P+R system with optimal bus connections: these three ideas are on the podium of “(er)lebenswertes Salzburg” (worth living and experiencing Salzburg), the first ideas competition at Open Innovation Salzburg.

How can Salzburg maintain its high quality of life while remaining an attractive travel destination? That was the central question of the tourism ideas competition on the crowdsourcing platform, which started on October 1^st. For about two months, concrete ideas from the areas of infrastructure, technology, information and offers were submitted. On January 28, 2020, Tourismus Salzburg GmbH and client of the competition presented the winners at a press conference.

“We were spoiled for choice in order to filter out the numerous ideas that were most relevant to us in this phase”, says Klemens Kollenz, project manager at TSG and member of the jury. “Ultimately, the mix of originality and feasibility was the deciding factor.” Ten of the 151 ideas were chosen, and the three most committed community members were awarded prizes.

In the age of digitalization, open innovation opens up new paths of innovation and radically generates new ideas by integrating unusual ideas providers, for example users and experts from other companies, regions or even other industries, into innovation processes at an early stage. With open innovation, companies not only tinker with new ideas within their company, but also involve actors such as customers, users, suppliers or interested people in the innovation process from the very beginning. With their knowledge and experience, they all contribute to the development of new solutions. In this way, products are development of new solutions. In this way, products are developed that are closer to the customer’s ideas and thus have greater success on the market.

These Are The Winning Ideas

The 10 best ideas were awarded on January 28, 2020 as part of the press release:

1. Price: SaltART
   Idea generators: SophieSch, Nina Mittermayr, Jan Brandl, Bellasander
2. Price: Data-based nudging using digital signage
   Idea generator: GreMat
3. Price: Simplified P+R and Express Shuttle
   Idea generator: A.Wochner
4. Price: Salzburg – Worth working for
   Idea generators: Tami Lanzendorf, ChiaraD, Stefanie Gumpinger, Martina Arnold, LeaMuellauer
5. Price: Explore Salzburg (and its surrounding area) by bike
   Idea generator: SAndre

Places 6 – 10        

• Dynamic Pricing App (Doris Suppan)
• Glimpse Salzburg (sophie)
• CrowdAvoid (Atakurt1)
• Controlled flows of visitors to relive the old town (Benedikt Mat.)
• Clear bike path labelling – that tourist groups do not block them (Empathia)

Details on the individual ideas are available on the openinnovation-salzburg.at platform.

Gemeinsam für Salzburg: Diana Wieden-Bischof von Salzburg Research (li.), Altstadt Verband Geschäftsführerin Sandra Woglar-Meyer (re.) und Klemens Kollenz, Projektverantwortlicher der TSG (2. v. re.), mit den glücklichen Gewinnerinnen und Gewinnern der ersten fünf Plätze des Tourismus-Ideenwettbewerbs „(er)lebenswertes Salzburg“. © Tourismus Salzburg GmbH / G. Breitegger

The winning projects were judged by an expert jury in terms of originality, feasibility, usefulness and scope of ideas and sustainability. The team of four from Sophie Schmidt, Nina Mittermayr, Jan Brandl and Isabella Sander came first with the “SalzART” project. Their idea is to put up street art, statues, works of art and installations in selected locations in order to redirect the flow of visitors and relive particularly stressed tourist hotspots.

The four tourism management students came up with the idea of a project at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, where the aim was to improve mobility in a creative way. “We came across the advertisement for the ideas competition by chance and then decided to take part because we already had a good idea”, says Nina Mittermayr, member of the winning team. They won old town vouchers woth 500 Euros. Jury member and connoisseur of young Salzburg Eva Krallinger-Gruber was particularly impressed by “SalzART”: “For me, the winning idea is a clear sign that Salzburg can and should be a little ‘younger’. As co-editor of a young city magazine, I particularly like that. Actions in this direction make it more interesting for more young people in Salzburg to participate in urban development – and that’s a nice direction.”

Second place goes to user Gregor Matjan for the idea “Data-based nudging using digital signage”. “Nudging” is a method of influencing people’s behaviour by means of positive incentives to change behaviour through digitally controllable signals – a kind of gentle digital push, such as dynamic pricing. He won a tour of the Hohensalzburg Fortress for 10 people including a drink.

Bronze went to the idea of “Simplified P+R and Express Shuttle” from Aron Wochner, who wanted to simplify the Salzburg P+R system. Customers should receive a unified service at all P+R car parks, for example, the purchase of tickets should work the same everywhere, and an express bus line should mean that from all P+R locations you should be able to reach the old town in less than 20 minutes. For this idea, he was awarded a candlelight dinner for two in the restaurant “Blaue Gans” worth 150 Euros. “The two impulses would be a win for Salzburg’s old town. The idea of a simplified and uniform P+R system and an express bus line to the old town is not new, but it is very important, sustainable and above all, feasible. It would certainly be an incentive for many day visitors and commuters to increasingly switch to public transport”, says Sandra Woglar-Meyer, managing director of the Altstadt Verband Salzburg.

After The Competition Is Before The Competition – Two New Ideas Campaigns Will Start In February

The competition “New Timber Paths – Innovations for the Salzburg Timber Industry” is organized by Pro:Holz and the Holzcluster Salzburg. From February 4, innovative ideas from the forest to the end customer and back again will be sought for the timber industry in the state of Salzburg. How can small and medium-sized woodworking companies inspire their customers and how can they manage the balancing act between tradition and modernity? What innovative ideas does the community have when it thinks of the diverse material wood and its use and distribution? The winning ideas will be rewarded with prizes such as vouchers worth 500 Euros, a balloon flight or a turning course.

The “Innogebirg Pongau” competition will be dedicated to Pongau as a holistic living space from February 18. The Salzburg Chamber of Commerce with the district office Pongau is the tenderer. The Pongau is not only an outstanding tourism region, but also home to successful companies and startups. Due to the geographical conditions, this potential is divided into many towns and side valleys. We are looking for ideas on how to open innovation culture and processes in terms of open innovation in Pongau and how to create a collaborative, innovation-promoting environment for new ideas and solutions. The central question is: How can we design and publicize Pongau as a vibrant space for innovation, living and working? How can this region be appreciated by all who live and work there and attract creative minds? You can win an Atomic ski that you can design yourself.

Ideas for both competitions can be submitted for two months from the start of the campaign on the crowdsourcing platform www.openinnovation-salzburg.at.

The Open Innovation Salzburg platform is backed by a consortium of competent partners: ITG – Innovation Service for Salzburg, Salzburg Research, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Seeburg Castle, University of Salzburg and the State of Salzburg.