A few years ago we started deploying the Zoniz Proximity Platform for smart cities. We have implemented it in locations such as the Faroe Islands, Alba Iulia, etc. Zoniz was a great tool for the municipality to engage with citizens, but also to promote tourism in these locations.
In 2022 we were approached the Văleni village in the Republic of Moldova to collaborate in creating the first smart village experience and we were excited to take on this challenge.
Collaboration
Once we set up the accounts, we organized an online meeting to give training on how to use Zoniz for content creation. We were impressed to see that Văleni’s entire community was coming together for this project. They have a very hands-on approach to creating the content on the platform.
They were very proactive in promoting the app as well, by printing the QR Code and displaying it at key points usually visited by tourists.
Content
The goal for Văleni was to promote their tourist attractions and help guide visitors around so that they won’t miss anything. Văleni has some beautiful natural points of interest, such as lakes, hills and meadows. Additionally, they have a few small local businesses, for example, guest houses or museums. They have created content to present all of them. For each objective, the feed that presents the information has an interactive map integrated, so the tourist can easily find them.
Văleni also has a famous historical route, the “Petru Rareș trail”, which surrounds the Beleu lake. It is named so after the XVI-century ruler of Moldova, which supposedly used to hunt in these places. For this trail, we have created a guided tour within the Zoniz app, which would take the visitors step by step to each checkpoint and unlock new information as they reached it.
Next Steps
Our next step in the project is to include the guest houses and small businesses with their own accounts, as they are the first ones to interact with the tourists. They can encourage visitors to download Zoniz, while at the same time, they can promote their services in the app. We are hopeful that Zoniz will bring value to Văleni, which will inspire other villages in the area to use it.
Rural areas have some of the best natural attractions for tourists. If your goal is to enhance tourist engagement, creating a smart village can help. Furthermore, the same platform can promote small local businesses in the area.
