Open participation
Any lawful local provider may apply under published criteria. A public partner does not choose commercial winners.
Local Partnerships
Local Partnerships
A clear collaboration model for cities, municipalities and tourism boards. SOVA remains an independent partner unless a written agreement says otherwise.
Transparent distribution
Sponsored placement is always marked. Ranking rules and provider charges are explained, not hidden.
Local benefit
The portal makes local services easier to discover and gives the destination aggregated, privacy-safe insight.
Accessible information
Languages, accessible content and practical guest help are treated as core destination functions.
STARTING OPTIONS
Choose the level of cooperation.
Each model has separate responsibilities, data rules and permitted public wording.
Letter of support
Recognition of the pilot’s local-digital objective, without operational or financial commitment.
Public wording only after written approval.Non-financial pilot
SOVA demonstrates the portal; the destination helps make the opportunity visible to all eligible providers.
No official-channel claim.Co-funded destination project
Defined public functions, milestones and reporting, with commercial services separately funded.
Requires the appropriate transparent process.Digital service agreement
A long-term operational model with agreed service levels, data protection and annual KPI review.
Brand use governed by a separate licence.EXAMPLE ANNUAL DASHBOARD
Measure what helps the destination.
These are proposed measurement categories, not SOVA results or promises.
- Provider inclusionfuture applications, reviewed profile states and category coverage
- Guest usefulnesscompleted itineraries, support resolution and accessibility usage
- Local distributionenquiries and bookings directed to local providers
- Trust and safetydocument status, complaints, refunds and response times
PROPOSED SIX-MONTH PILOT
Start with one city and one tourism board.
A controlled pilot first proves provider inclusion, guest usefulness and operational readiness. It does not need a full booking marketplace on day one.
- Month 0Prepare
Pilot memorandum, territory, public wording, privacy boundaries and published provider criteria.
- Month 1Onboard
Invite eligible local providers openly; build the first reviewed-profile and discovery catalogue.
- Months 2–3Build and test
Content, routes, partner pages, mobility hand-off and closed user testing.
- Month 4Limited launch
Release the portal with support routing, clear demo and booking boundaries and monitoring.
- Months 5–6Measure and decide
Review inclusion, enquiries, usability, incidents and the decision to extend or improve.
Launch gatesPublished criteriaProvider checks readySupport owner assignedPrivacy notice liveNo unapproved civic branding
Public-positioning rule: SOVA may say “pilot supported by” or “project partner” only when specifically agreed in writing. City or tourism-board names, emblems and logos are never shown by default.
PILOT MATERIALS
A working pack for a city or tourism board
Use these materials to discuss a limited pilot. They are editable working material, not an offer, procurement document or approved public partnership.
One-page concept
A six-month, limited destination pilot that combines public-source discovery, transparent local-provider inclusion and personal trip planning. It starts without a booking marketplace, payment collection or claim of official-city status.
- Open criteria for lawful local providers
- Multilingual, accessible guest information
- Privacy-safe, aggregate pilot measurement
Presentation outline
- The local visitor and provider problem
- SOVA Destination product boundary
- Public value and open participation
- Six-month pilot, responsibilities and launch gates
- Measurement, risks and next decision
Safe public wording
“Pilot supported by [name]” — only after a specific written approval for the exact wording and period.
“Project partner” — only where the agreement states the role, scope and communications rules.
SOVA Verified — only after a separate documented SOVA review; never as a public-authority approval or guarantee.
Interest-letter template
Subject: Expression of interest — SOVA Destination pilot Dear [city / tourism board contact], We would like to discuss a limited SOVA Destination pilot for [territory]. The aim is to test an open local discovery and trip-planning layer that helps visitors find lawful local services while preserving transparent participation, privacy and clear public-sector boundaries. The pilot would not present SOVA as an official city channel, activate providers automatically, create bookings or process payments. Any public wording, logo or emblem use would require a separate written approval. We propose a short working meeting to define territory, public-value goals, the open-provider approach, data boundaries, support ownership and six-month measurement criteria. Kind regards, [SOVA contact]
Public-sector FAQ
- Is SOVA an official city or tourism-board channel?
- No. SOVA remains an independent partner unless a specific written agreement says otherwise. The pilot never implies official endorsement by default.
- Does the pilot choose commercial winners?
- No. The proposed model uses published eligibility criteria and does not give a public partner control over commercial ranking.
- What data would a city or tourism board receive?
- Only agreed, privacy-safe aggregate pilot indicators. Individual traveller prompts, exact locations and private provider drafts are not reporting material.
- Are reservations and payments part of this first pilot?
- No. This first product stage is discovery and planning only. Any future booking or payment flow requires separate legal, commercial and technical decisions.