The NRW Tourism Association is developing a state-wide tourism data management system in the form of the EU-funded project "Tourist Data Management North Rhine-Westphalia - open, networked, digital", which was launched in September 2019. Its main starting point is the digitization of tourism data and information. The public activation of a platform or data hub for this purpose took place on 08.03.2021 (https://www.land.nrw/de/pressemitteilung/landesweiter-data-hub-startet-und-stellt-touristische-informationen-ueber-regionen) (opens in a new tab).

The 12 partners in this ERDF project include Radregion Rheinland e. V., of which the city of Bonn itself is a member. These partners have previously commissioned the creation of a necessary regional database in the form of a purchasing consortium. This database is compatible with the state data management of Tourismus NRW. The city of Bonn now has the opportunity to record its own tourism data and information in a machine-readable format via a fee-based, contractually bound sub-mandate and to export it both regionally and state-wide via the Tourismus NRW data hub in accordance with specified licensing standards. Further technological applications, such as the implementation of a Progressive Web App (PWA), are being planned, as is the linking or implementation of a so-called Knowledge Graph of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB, https://open-data-germany.org/).

In addition to the service benefits for the customer, the Data Hub also increases the reach and visibility of local offers and excursion tips and can also be used to effectively guide and direct visitors. Relevant information can be accessed after prior registration at https://datahub.touristiker-nrw.de/ (menu item Open Data Finder - your way to direct data retrieval). In accordance with the state's open data strategy, third parties also have the option of accessing appropriately qualified data from the NRW Data Hub and using it for their own website, for example.

Within the administration, there is a close exchange between the specialist departments involved with regard to the digital continuity and effective management of the data. When entering the data, the 20 most important sights in Bonn were initially taken into account. Further data is entered on an ongoing basis. Bonn-Information is also paying particular attention to the digital presentation of barrier-free tourist information. As part of its database management, the NRW Tourism Association relies on the application of the nationwide "Travel for All" certification system (www.reisen-fuer-alle.de). The Bonn-Information has already undergone certification to this effect in 2020. In addition, an employee has now been trained as an auditor for the labeling system in order to promote the certification of other businesses in Bonn.

A division of tasks between Tourismus & Congress GmbH (T&C) and Bonn-Information has been made with regard to entering the data: Thus, T&C maintains the data in the categories "Hosts" and "Gastronomy" and Bonn-Information maintains the data in the categories "Sights", "Routes" and in future also in the "Events" section.