A city’s own tourist site is rarely the most relevant resource for newcomers and tourists. More often, individual bloggers and independent publications have the up-to-date, insider information, presented in a format that doesn’t appear as if it were constructed in 1998. But, with the help of agencies Sid Lee and Touché PHD, the city of Montreal is working to be their own best digital brand-builder, hopefully setting the tone for a string of cities.
Tourisme Montreal’s campaign asks visitors and residents to be “destination ambassadors” by using the hashtag #MTLMOMENTS when they Instagram their time in the city. Montreal moments will then be showcased on Tourisme Montreal’s bilingual blog, Vivez MTL/MTL Buzz. It’s also mobile and tablet compatible. All in all, the blog is a stylish relief from Tourisme Montreal’s previous staid, basic slideshow site. Hopefully they eventually convert altogether, because more than any tourist board’s recommendations, it’s the people that define a place.