City Secrets through the Eyes of its Locals
Dopios owes its existence to one of those momentary flashes of inspiration: When Alexandros’ friend came back from a trip, she thought out loud just how much more authentic her experience would have been if she had known a local to show her around. This immediately prompted Alexandros Trimis, Anand Henry, Manolis Kounelakis and Nikos Sarilakis to come up with a way to make their friend’s desire a reality.
Dopios, meaning local in Greek, connects tourists with Athenian locals. It is a new community marketplace designed to provide visitors with the city experience they would enjoy when shown around by friends, revealing the hidden corners no tourist guide would ever tell them about.
In their personal profiles, participating locals register the “secrets” they would like to share, ranging from traditional home-made meals, bar hopping, or day trips around the city to olive harvests or wine making – if you happen to be around during the right season! Visitors can contact the local of their choice and, for a small fee, book one or more experiences. The ideal “local” is the one who loves his city and local culture; someone who simply wants to share the passion and meet new people on the way. After all, the aim of the platform is to make travelers leave with unforgettable memories, authentic experiences, and new-found friends!
Fully aware that many people find it hard to trust a stranger, the Dopios team paid a lot of attention to the platform’s security measures, including a “credibility score” based on the completeness of the local’s profile, social media connections and a personal review by the Dopios team.
Dopios kicked off in Athens in the summer of 2012 and is now rapidly expanding to other popular Greek destinations. And the enthusiastic response motivates the team to extend its feelers to other European cities – a lot sooner than they had hoped for!
Read the article on Bettery Magazine website (available also in French)