14-04-2025
In October, we’ll celebrate CityAppTour’s third birthday already! But how did it all start, on that faithful day in 2022? CityAppTour’s founder and CEO; Jaap Dijkstra, tells you everything about his company and how we got to this point today! 
First of all, introduce yourself! We want to know who the mastermind behind CityAppTour is!
Wow, the mastermind? My name is Jaap Dijkstra. How old am I again? 63. Married, three children and from the start... That’s about 2,5 years ago, the owner of CityAppTour. I enjoy running my two companies, Uitjes en Eten and CityAppTour and what I find important, as I said in our pre-conversation, is that we have a lot of fun within the companies.
We did talk about that in our pre-conversation. We also talked briefly about with what purpose and thoughts CityAppTour was created. Can you elaborate on that?
In short, the goal is to create a product with the technology that is available at the moment, think of apps, internet and AI. And then to add to that product with our own identity, so people can experience a city in just one day.
So, a combination of modern technology and authentic stories?
Yes, exactly! And of course, it has to touch on the biggest and most well-known buildings or areas of the city, but we also like searching for stories that are, as we call them, treasure chest stories. We want to tell those stories, too, so it’s more like a guided tour plus!
The total picture, I like that. Can you tell me what some of the first steps were after starting CityAppTour?
I can’t even recall that exactly! The first step was seeing how there were more possibilities with an app, than just use it as a platform for games and then take inventory of the market and see what options there are. Then at a certain point, you just say, “We’re going to move forward with this.” You keep discussing it with people and eventually, you just say, “Yes, we’re really going to do this!”
Was it personal interest as well? Interest in travelling and telling stories?
I love to travel and experience new things — I’m always looking for ways to enrich my life like that. I genuinely love being somewhere new, being in a city, exploring things, diving into a bit of history, experiencing something. I get a lot of joy from that, and I’m still able to do it from time to time. I really enjoy it. 
That’s nice to hear. But it can’t all be sunshine and rainbows... What challenges did you encounter at the start, and how did you deal with them?
There were a lot challenges, and actually more than I had expected. At first, we thought, “Okay, setting up a website? We can handle that.” But we also said, “If we’re going to have a website, it has to be a good one. It has to be easily found.” So, we invested quite a bit in that. And honestly, that part wasn’t even that hard.
Then came the app. We decided to use the same platform as the games from Uitjes en Eten, which we found out wasn’t ideal. It’s better to develop an app that’s tailored to your specific purpose. So, we’re working on that now.
We also ran into content issues. At some point we said, “Once we have 25 cities ready, we’ll activate those and start with a solid base.” But then we realized the texts we had written for those 25 cities didn’t meet customer expectations. We should have tested them! We thought we were doing well... but we weren’t. The texts were way too short. Our clients expected longer, more engaging content. So, we had to rewrite everything. It was a massive amount of work, but it did give us some important insights into how to go about creating content.
It's a daily process, to try things out and experiment to generate new opportunities.
Yeah, so constant development?
Constant development. There are so many changes in the market, for example, AI. People will start using it way more, so we’ll have to come up with ways to stay unique and authentic. The key really lies in solid technology, and above all, in exceptionally strong content.
I agree with you there. So, with all of these developments, when did you really start noticing the growth of the company? What was the turning point?
Well, you’ve already seen part of this yourself, but it was fall last year that we really made a leap forward. That’s when we started to generate actual sales, to the point where we could say the business had real viability. That, combined with the span of months where we finally got the products to the level they needed to be. That was the point we could say, “Now we’re meeting both the quality and the quantity.”
That’s well said! Now I’m curious, what’s the most important lesson you’ve learned since founding CityAppTour?
There’s a lot of lessons, but the most important one is to be flexible and positive, yet realistic. There’s ups and downs to being a start-up company, so you have to set deadlines for yourself and your company, for when you want to have reached certain goals. But I am proud of the product we’ve put out, especially since we’re with a small team. We’ve done well, I think.
So, you’re also really proud of the team?
Yes, definitely! Look, I’m someone who can initiate things. And yeah, you’ll see me walk in every now and then, and I do keep an eye on things, I think. But honestly—take Fons, for example. Without Fons, this never would’ve been possible. He basically manages… everything.
Sure, I might be a bit critical when I walk in sometimes, but he’s really developed himself in ways I didn’t expect. There’s so much more technical work involved than I thought there would be. I really thought it was going to be much simpler! So maybe that’s part of the lesson too... Even though, ironically, keeping things simple is still really important.
In some ways, yes. But it’s also important to dream big. And speaking of dreams, where do you see CityAppTour in five years?
In five years... Well, I think things can move quickly in the market, which is dependent on a lot of factors, of course.
With the scale we’re building—our presence in so many cities—I believe that will eventually project a real sense of strength. That will help us get in the door with larger organizations more easily. So honestly, I expect that five years from now, CityAppTour could have a significantly larger team.
But also, we’ll be able to provide more valuable information to people visiting a city. That’s traditionally what a tourist office does, but we’re trying to make it much more accessible and user-friendly.
And I also see the company having more internal departments. Different branches of marketing, for instance—not just social media, but also local partnerships with cities and hotels. Maybe even a couple of people working full-time just on creating or rewriting content. I think we’ll see a lot more potential in the app itself, which means we’ll probably need someone in-house who can keep up with that development.
So yes, I think all of that is possible over the next five years. As for how much we’ll be selling exactly? I don’t know. But I do believe there are a lot of possibilities ahead of us.
That’s an exciting future to think about! Lastly, do you have one tip for people starting up their own company? One you might have wanted to get when you were just starting up your own company.
Test things beforehand! Gather information about the market and customers before you make decisions and take action. We didn’t always do that, and it made me a little surprised by my naivety. It’s still very much a trial-and-error game, but it would’ve made it a lot smoother!
Well said! That’s all for today, thank you your time!
No problem at all!
21-03-2025
Today marks the first day of spring, which means (hopefully!) better weather to explore beautiful cities. A prime example of cities that truly come to life in spring, is Trier. In my experience, any city is better to explore with a temperature above 20 ºC, but Trier truly outdid itself. Here are my top 5 best activities to do in Germany’s oldest city, when the sun is out and the flowers are in bloom.
Visit a wine event in Trier
Spring kicks off the wine festivities season in the Moselle region, which means lots of events for wine tastings and more! The region is known for its white wines, so be sure to try out the local varieties. Alternatively, take part of an organized wine tasting on a boat on the Moselle, or in Germany’s oldest wine cellar. 
Shop at the Trier’s Farmer’s Market
Every Tuesday and Friday, local and regional vendors come together on Viehmarket Square to sell their fresh products on Trier’s Farmer’s Market. Take a stroll along the market when the weather is nice and support the vendors and the local community by buying their products!
Hike or cycle through the beautiful nature surrounding Trier
The city is surrounded by stunning nature, which is just waiting for you to explore. Go for a hike to see the most beautiful views, or rent a bike to make your way around the region. Whether you go independently or with a guide, you’ll be sure to enjoy the nice weather in this way! 
Take a SUP course
For those of you who want something more active, try taking a SUP course on the Moselle! Learn how to stand up and move around on a paddle board, while enjoying the scenery around you. Warning: we are not responsible for any blunders you might make falling into the water, like I did ;).
Do your own UNESCO bingo!
Trier is famous for its historic monuments, nine of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Download the bingo card down below and see how many of them you can visit during your stay! The price if you get bingo? A well-deserved glass of local Riesling wine. Unless you do the bingo with kids, then you’ll have to settle for some lemonade ;). 
Hopefully, you’ve got enough inspiration for your stay in Trier with these tips from me, but if not, you can always book an audio tour from us, to fill up your time. Bonus: with the tour, you’ll pass seven of the UNESCO sites, so almost a full bingo! ;)
