Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam was founded by the Creative Business domain of Hogeschool Inholland. Collaborating with local authorities, businesses, residents, entrepreneurs, researchers and students, we explore the ways in which tourism can make a city better. See our menu for students here and our menu for the working field here.
About us
Foto: Iris van den Broek
Collaborating and experimenting
We think that tourism and recreation should not only serve an economic purpose, but should also reinforce various city sectors. This can be achieved through intelligent partnerships and by finding innovative solutions. This is what we do, deploying visible projects in city centre and quarters alike. These projects not only generate research reports, but also produce useful tools that entrepreneurs, municipalities and businesses can use for their own activities.
Tourism as a solution
Together, we make the city more attractive, ensuring that tourism provides a solution to challenges in education, work, sports, culture and healthcare. Below please find some examples of projects that have inspired us.
– Deploying an unused auditorium in a school as a conference location, whereby the educational institution benefits from the additional income.
– Attracting visitors to city quarters by means of street art; putting the area on the map as well as connecting the residents.
– Getting together with local residents to devise activities of interest to tourists in less sought-after quarters so that there is a better spread of visitors across the city and the quarter also benefits.
– Preparing the city for the future by providing digital solutions for touristic challenges.
– Creating employment by bringing large-scale international events to the city.
– Adding green areas to the city to attract tourists while creating running and walking facilities for local residents at the same time.
Meet our team
Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam consists of a team of teachers, lecturers, researchers, teacher-researchers, associate lecturers and a quartermaster. They collaborate with organisations and students in the city lab for tourism and leisure.
Living labs van Hogeschool Inholland
Hogeschool Inholland has inspired the setting up of several living labs dealing with tourism issues in other cities in the Netherlands:
- Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Amsterdam
- SLUISlab, in the Sluisbuurt quarter on the Zeeburgereiland in Amsterdam
- Citylab Haarlem
- International Music Academy Lab.
We collaborate closely with these various labs, and the results, solutions and innovations make a major contribution to the work of the field, as well as ensuring new insights in education. Do you want to learn more about our living labs? Please check this booklet.
Roos Gerritsma, Associate Lector at the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab
Students look at the site where the new Inholland building will be located and the SLUISlab.
Students during a Brainstorm Session at Citylab Haarlem.
Hogeschool Inholland Rotterdam. Photo: Iris van den Broek
Join us
We invite businesses and local-government organisations to share their issues with us. Who knows; by collaborating and deploying our expertise we may come up with inspiring solutions. It is not only students who are engaged in our projects; research is also conducted by scientists, lecturers, researchers and experts in the domain of tourism.