The think tanks generated ideas about potential creative tourism methods or programmes. Ideas varied from developing a handbook for a different view on the city (made by locals to become a tourist in your own city or made by tourists and locals to increase interaction between them), to a ‘cultural snack bar’ in Breda in which a customer orders a ‘snack’ which guarantees a personal experience, interaction, a meaningful encounter or a story. Snacks can differ in time, price and category: it can be an encounter on a specific location, an assignment like ‘take the performance entrance of the theatre’, a walk in the forest with a local, a visit at the workspace of a visual artist, etc. The think tank in Tilburg led to the idea of a creative tourism tour in the Veemarktkwartier (VMK). Since the area has a closed look and feel, the aim is to open it up and show the creativity behind the front doors. The tour includes a walking dinner and passes several outdoor and indoor locations of the VMK, starting at the bed and breakfast the area appeared to have. Combined with a course, participants get involved in the activities of a specific spot by either listening to stories of people working there, experiencing the history of the place or being part of a performance.
Participants of both think tanks reacted enthusiastically: ‘it was useful; I learned to know several parties!’ ‘It’s interesting to see how ideas come to existence; the mix of people brings energy’ and ‘it gave me the feeling that with shared creativity you get so much further’.
In both sessions the question popped up what to do with the generated ideas. As one entrepreneur said: ‘for me the success of such brainstorms depends on what happens next.’ Logically, this also depends on the participants themselves.