Helsinki and Lyon are the two cities that in 2019 received the title of “European Capital of Smart Tourism” for having highlighted innovation and exclusivity in initiatives related to:
Sustainability - enhancement of the natural environment and resources with the right balance between economic and socio-cultural development.
Digitization - offer of innovative information on hospitality, tourism, products, services and spaces adapted to the needs of consumers, thanks to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
Culture and Creativity - offering a tourist experience enriched by the full use of cultural heritage resources.
Accessibility - guarantee of easy reach and accessibility of places for travelers with different needs and backgrounds, providing different means of transport.
The European Commission, with the “European Capital of Smart Tourism” competition, wants to encourage innovative and inclusive solutions in “sustainable and accessible tourism” and hopes that this competition will raise the tourism profile of Europe and will create a platform for sharing best tourist practices among European cities.
The idea of a smart city for the Finnish capital is mainly based on digital development. The progress of the city is made available to citizens on the dedicated Digital Helsinki platform.
Some key projects concerning the development of Helsinki as a smart city are:
Forum Virium Smart City - It is a project for the development of digital urban services planned by the government.
Smart Kalasatama - Kalasatama is a district of the city, which has become an experimental platform for smart and green services and infrastructures, such as: intelligent waste collection systems, electric cars, renewable energy production on site.
MySMARTLife project - The EU-funded project is about developing smart solutions to reduce urban energy consumption by (10-20)% and increase renewable energy use.
Helsinki aims to become carbon neutral by 2035.
