A short introduction who we are and how we could expand our network to your city!
Our story
As two travel addicts frequently frustrated by the obvious, touristy, impersonal, and out-of-date tips they found in their travel guides and on travel websites, Sanne & Bart van Poll launched Spotted by Locals in 2008.
Starting as an experiment blog with insider tips for Amsterdam in 2008, Spotted by Locals is now a series of apps and blogs with up-to-date tips by locals (or “Spotters”) in 82 cities in Europe & North America.
Sanne & Bart handpick Spotters and meet all Spotters in person in their city.
Our Spotters
Spotted by Locals is run by our passionate Spotters. These lovely locals live in the city they write about, speak the local language, and write about their favorite spots only.
In 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 we organized Spotters Weekends for our community bloggers (read more).
What makes us different from other city guides?
- Real locals: our locals live in the city and speak the language;
- Quality selection: Locals are selected, and only write about their favorite spots;
- Up-to-date: All our articles are always up-to-date and up-to-season;
- Unbiased: Locals don’t accept any form of compensation
What (some) other say about us
“…tips rarely found in the guidebook. […] My first port of call”
The Times | Read article
“…authentically local, on-the-ground advice…”
The Guardian | Read article
“…a useful series of blogs and iPhone app with locally written travel guides and reviews of hangouts and events.”
The New York Times | Read article
Our audience
Our readers are young (mostly 20-40), experienced travelers, earn more than average, and have an extensive knowledge of the internet. They are curious and open – they like to try new things, and stay away from the “obvious”. More than the average internet population our visitors are affluent, highly educated, and have no kids (source: Quantcast analysis).
In the last 10 years (2010-2020) we welcomed an average 2.5 million unique visitors per year on our blogs. 100% organically.
Why we love working with tourist boards
Promoting great cities is what Spotted by Locals is about. By starting a Spotted by Locals city blog, we help raise awareness for your city as a tourist destination or place to live. City life is in our DNA, and for us cities are the coolest “brands” there are.
Launching a city guide for your city
We’ve worked with various tourist boards (Bern, Ghent, Rijeka, Tampere, The Hague) to launch a city guide for their city, which has attracted many new visitors. Not regular tourists who are just interested in seeing the highlights, but people who want to get to know a city’s culture.
If we start a city guide for your city, this doesn’t require any time or input from you as a tourist board. We will find locals who will write about their favorite spots, recruit new ones when we need them and keep all content up to date “forever”.
In return for starting a city guide, we ask you to pay for an advertising campaign (Euro 6.000) on our blogs and on our social media channels to promote your city. You can create all content for this campaign yourself, or we can help you. We will make sure you get a lot of great exposure.
Interested? Get in touch with co-founder Bart (bart@spottedbylocals.com) for a proposal.
Other options
Not interested in a guide for your city, but still want to work with us? There are other options – and we’re open to your ideas!
Contact us
We’d love to talk about how we can add value to your organization in a personal meeting, or a telephone / video call.
Please e-mail co-founder Bart (bart@spottedbylocals.com) your ideas!