Spotted by Locals
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| Spotted by Locals | |
|---|---|
| Caption | Spotted by Locals Logoorry, |
| Genre | Travel Guides |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founders |
Sanne van Poll-Bakker Bart van Poll |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam |
| Products | Travel guidebook, digital applications, online community |
| Website | spottedbylocals.com |
Spotted by Locals is a publisher of a series of travel guides (apps & blogs) with up to date tips curated by handpicked locals in 60+ cities in Europe and North America.
The city guides are curated by "Spotters" - people who live in the city they write about and speak the local language. All Spotters are selected by founders Sanne & Bart van Poll.
Spotted by Locals is aimed at travelers who want local information about a city, and who want to avoid the typical tourist spots.
Access to travel information from locals is gaining popularity amongst travelers and travel organizations like Lonely Planet.[1] In 2010, Spotted by Locals was one of the co-founders of LocalTravelMovement.com, a not-for-profit responsible travel website and discussion platform aiming to unite companies who commit to operating with Local Travel values.
The Spotted by Locals concept has received coverage on BBC World,[2] and in newspapers and magazines like The Guardian,[3] the Sueddeutsche Zeitung,[4] Le Monde,[5] The Sunday Times,[6] and National Geographic Traveler.
Spotted by Locals has also been mentioned in The Telegraph, [7] Gadling and [8] The Times.[9]
History
| Mar 2008 | Spotted by Locals was founded by Sanne & Bart van Poll, a married couple of avid travelers from Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Apr 2008: | Founders start a 6 month road trip to 21 cities in Europe, to select the first 120 Spotters |
| Nov 2008: | Winner of Mashable Open Web Awards[10] in the category "Travel" |
| Feb 2009: | Winner of Lonely Planet Travel Blog Award in the "Best Group authored Travel blog" category |
| Oct 2010: | Winner of Guardian newspaper "Best Travel Website" Award[11] |
| Feb 2011: | Launch of the iPhone application |
| Jul 2012: | Launch of Android applications |
| Nov 2012: | First "Spotters weekend" in Amsterdam, with 80 Spotters attending[12] |
| Jan 2013: | Launch of first city guides in North America |
| Oct 2014: | Second "Spotters weekend" in Amsterdam, with 100 Spotters from 48 cities attending[13] |
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Notes
- ↑ Lonely Planet Travel Blog - Get Lost, Go local
- ↑ Best of the web - BBC World, 19 February 2010
- ↑ The Guardian - Spotted online: local guides to Europe's cities, 18 March 2009
- ↑ Reiseblog Spotted by Locals - Lieblingsplätze der Insider, 17 September 2009
- ↑ Une site anti-piège à touristes - Le Monde, 14 April 2009
- ↑ The Sunday Times - The best travel guides on the web, April 3, 2009
- ↑ The Telegraph - Travel advice: data roaming charges, August 8, 2011
- ↑ Gadling - Iphone app review, January 28, 2012
- ↑ The Times - 50 top websites for travel, January 29, 2013
- ↑ Mashable Open Web Awards
- ↑ Guardian and Observer "Best Travel Website" award
- ↑ Spotters weekend 2012
- ↑ Spotters weekend 2014
