Explore Porto registers two million visits and incorporates contributions from residents and tourists

With more than two million visits since its launch and with a year-on-year growth of 25% in the first quarter of 2024, Explore Porto is moving into a new development phase.

The municipality's web app, designed to boost mobility and tourism in the city, will now actively involve residents in the development and search for urban solutions.

Through a user-centred approach, the Municipality of Porto, under the coordination of Porto Digital and together with partner entities, is committed to listening to the concerns and suggestions of the community, ensuring that urban innovation projects are truly inclusive and respond to the real needs of users.

Porto Digital is leading the redesigning of the service as part of Explore Community – a project funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (Mobilising Agenda to Accelerate and Transform Tourism). Explore Porto currently has nearly 400,000 users and two million sessions, and the aim is to extend its functionalities and respond to the needs of a greater number of citizens.

The actions that took place this week at the Citizens' Office and the Sé Tourist Office, as part of the drive to improve the application, are an example of that effort. Over the course of two days, one at each location, feedback was collected from residents and tourists.

Filipe Araújo, Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Innovation and Digital Transition, participated in the event and emphasised that 'this closeness with residents and visitors is vital if we want to consider a Porto of the future, with the capacity to respond to complex challenges and foresee the difficulties associated with preserving a city full of history, but with its eyes set on innovation and prosperity'.

The project has involved a diverse set of stakeholders, such as the Municipal Citizen Services Department, the Municipal Economic Activities Department, the Municipal Mobility Department, the Municipal Tourism and Internationalisation Department, the Municipal Public Space Requalification Division, among others.

As part of Explore Porto's redesign, the experimental project to install real-time information screens at some STCP bus stops was implemented in March. The aim is to provide residents with updated information on bus timetables and routes, improving everyday life in terms of mobility. The project also stood out for its inclusive approach, as test sessions were held with visually impaired people in order to assess accessibility and gather feedback for potential improvements, in an action coordinated with the Porto branch of ACAPO.