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Why on-demand mobility in touristic regions is better for tourists and residents alike

The case for on-demand mobility in touristic regions

How ridepooling promotes sustainable economic growth and eases the burden of overtourism for tourists and residents alike. Tourism is one of the major sources of wealth in Europe, representing 10% of the European Union’s GDP and accounting for over  12 million jobs. In 2024 alone, touristic regions are expected to generate a record-breaking 275 billion EUR in revenues – with a further predicted yearly growth rate of 3% until 2029.

The impact of the tourism boom on host communities

Despite the many economic benefits, tourist destinations are already facing significant challenges as a result of massive touristic growth. Two of them stand out:
  1. Overtourism: the growing influx of visitors leads to decreased quality of life for local communities, with residents facing increasingly overcrowded spaces, surging prices, and growing traffic.
  2. Increased environmental pressures: the booming tourist industry already accounts for 5% of global CO2 emissions – putting enormous pressure on land uses, air quality, and natural resources.
The extent of these challenges was made evident during the 2024 touristic peak season, when residents in many touristic regions across Europe expressed their frustration by protesting the effects of excessive tourism. At the same time, more and more tourists turn their backs on overcrowded destinations, and opt for more climate-friendly holidays.

The issue of mobility and increased traffic burden

The issue of mobility is a major contributor to this situation, especially in regions where most travelers arrive in their personal  cars. The ensuing traffic burden can quickly turn into a massive problem.

That’s because traffic infrastructure is designed for average traffic conditions. However, during peak season – which often lasts three to four months each year – the number of cars in many destinations can easily triple. This leads to huge congestion and parking problems that only add to the frustration of both tourists and residents, while severely impacting the local economy. The situation is even worse in many tourist destinations which are in challenging settings, like the narrow valleys in the Alps. 

Clearly, addressing the issue of mobility in touristic regions is of paramount importance,if those communities wish to continue to provide a good quality of life for their residents as well as increase their attractiveness as a holiday destination.

How offering reliable on-demand mobility services can help

One of the main reasons people prefer a private car when on holidays, is because they want to ensure they can get around freely and comfortably throughout the destination region. But what if they could have that without needing to worry about the added fuel and parking costs, long traffic jams, and increased ecological footprint?

This is where on-demand ridepooling  comes in – a new mobility solution that operates at the intersection of private and public mobility, combining the best of both worlds.

Offering shared rides and flexible routing in electric vehicles, such as comfortable shuttles or small buses, ridepooling allows tourist destinations to provide high-quality, eco-friendly transportation to their visitors and residents based on real-time demand.

The benefits for touristic areas are twofold 

  • It drastically improves mobility and reduces the strain on road infrastructure.
  • It allows tourists to arrive using greener forms of transportation, such as trains.

What’s more, ridepooling operates on advanced digital technology,ensuring maximum efficiency and reliability  without the need to hire additional staff.

Considering a single on-demand shuttle can replace 10 private cars, ridepooling can help mitigate some of the impact of touristic growth while boosting your region’s attractiveness. But how should you design a touristic on-demand system to harness its full value potential?

Seven guiding principles for designing a powerful on-demand system:

  1. Design genuinely for both tourists and residents when it comes to operating area, hours of service, fleet size, and terms of usage.
  2. Leverage the tourism tax as base funding: countries like Switzerland are already using tourist taxes to fund local transport services, while some studies report that potential visitors would be happy to pay a higher tax if it’s for a better environment or a good cause.
  3. Build on existing fleets: integrating hotel shuttles, public transport minibuses, or taxis, as complementary means of transport, lowers the investment and optimizes the utilization of available vehicles.
  4. In addition to providing an intuitive phone traveler application, consider possibilities for alternative and inclusive booking options like a kiosk in restaurants, hotels or other touristic sites (3rd party web booking possibility).
  5. Create a powerful consortium: mobility serves many stakeholders in touristic regions (tourist attractions, activities, hotels). Involving everybody into one mixed business model  lowers entry barriers and puts the whole project on solid economic foundations.
  6. Explore the possibility of offering on-demand mobility for free to tourists and residents: this boosts adoption and simplifies operation and implementation. It also does not require visitors to go through lengthy app registrations while on vacation.
  7. Be loud in your marketing: ecological, car-free, and comfortable mobility enhances your green profile – so be sure to tell the world.

Touristic on-demand mobility has the potential to:

  • Convert a touristic region into a CO2-neutral destination
  • Significantly improve the quality of life of residents
  • Create an economic impact by supporting local businesses
  • Give space formerly used for traffic and parking back to nature
  • Increase the perceived quality of your touristic product

Would you appreciate a one-way hike in the Alps with free on-demand transfer to and from your accommodation? Or a shared shuttle service with friends after a wine tasting?

Let’s talk about how to convert your region into a truly sustainable and economically successful tourist destination.

What is on-demand ridepooling?

On-demand ridepooling  is a transportation service that allows multiple passengers with similar or overlapping routes to share a ride in real-time, by using technology to dynamically match passengers heading in the same direction.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Mobile App or Platform: passengers use a mobile app to request a ride. The app identifies other passengers nearby who are traveling in the same general direction.
  2. Dynamic Matching: the service’s algorithm automatically matches passengers based on their pickup locations, destinations, and time preferences. It optimizes routes to minimize detours and maximize vehicle occupancy.
  3. Shared Rides: once matched, passengers share a ride in a single vehicle, typically a van or larger car. The driver picks up and drops off passengers at the requested address, taking the most efficient route indicated by the Driver Application.
  4. Cost Efficiency: because the ride is shared, the cost is usually lower than for a private ride. Passengers only pay for a portion of the trip based on their individual route.
  5. Environmental Benefits: by reducing the number of vehicles on the road, ridepooling helps decrease traffic congestion and lower carbon emissions.

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