By Juxhina Malaj
Publisher of 66 alternative, distinctive and original city guides, Spotted by Locals features city blogs created by a hand-picked community of local writers and photographers. Known as Spotters, they live in the city they write about, speak the local language, write only about their favorite spots and keep their tips up-to-date.
Spotted by Locals Story
Travel guidebooks were behind the times (even in 2008!) and they drove Sanne & Bart crazy. On city breaks, the outdated paperbacks brought them to touristy highlights, last year’s nightlife venues and defunct spots that no longer existed.
The Amsterdam-based duo finally got their trip back on track when, on a city break, they stumbled upon the personal blog of a local who wrote about his favorite spots in the city. As two travel addicts, Sanne and Bart saw the need to replace traditionalist, conformist travel recommendations with insider tips by locals, for travelers who want to experience cities like a local.
Halfway between practical and idealistic, Sanne and Bart made the radical decision to quit their jobs, pack their old but trustworthy Opel Astra and venture across Europe for six months to start Spotted by Locals.
Since 2008, Spotted by Locals has expanded rapidly – first from Amsterdam to Zurich in Europe, and then from coast to coast in America. In 2011, 100% offline mobile apps for iPhone and Android were introduced for travelers on-the-go. There are now 66 city guides across North America, Europe and the Middle East. Every Spotter is handpicked by Sanne and Bart, who still lead a nomadic life traveling up to six months a year to meet each of the 375 city-loving locals at their favorite spots around the world.
Through each city guide, Sanne, Bart and the Spotters worldwide share the local culture and habits of each city. They believe that expanding the worldview of travelers by allowing them to see from a local’s perspective can increase intercultural understanding, which helps make the world a better place.
Interview with Sanne and Bart:
1- When was Tirana included as one of the cities spotted by locals?
We launched the Tirana blog & app in November 2015.
2- Why isn’t there another Albanian city besides Tirana included in the app? Or only capitals are included?
Our main aim is providing high quality, reliable city guides. This is why we meet all Spotters in person, and handpick them. This takes some time 🙂 So we focus on the main cities in Europe & North America. In 90% of all countries we only have a guide for the capital city.
Although Tirana doesn’t have as much city tourism as many other cities in Europe, we think it’s important to show how cool these less touristy cities are. We hope to help grow responsible tourism to Albania. What we already suspected we now know for sure: Tirana deserves more flight & transport connections and attention!
3- I’ve seen that there are four girls (Matilda Karcanaj, Ingrid Xhaja, Eri Mataj, and Andia Ago) that write for Spotted by Locals in Tirana. Is there a reason why there is not a single guy in the group and why all of them are relatively young? Do you plan to recruit other people from Tirana to be part of Spotted by Locals in the future?
Most of our users are between 20 and 35, so we prefer to select Spotters in this age range. In each city we select 4 to 6 locals. In Tirana, we have students as well as young professionals, with very different background and tastes. But yes, we definitely need a guy for more diversity! Somehow, we have not yet been able to find a male local Tirana lover who would like to share his favorite spots with visitors. If you’re interested in contributing, please check the website and apply!
4- How many times have you two been in Tirana and Albania or was this the first time?
This was our first time in Albania and Tirana.
5- Can you tell me what were your impressions of Tirana, or Albania in general before you came to visit? Did those impressions changed much after your visit? If yes, why?
We were of course influenced by the tips our locals have been writing about since November. We also read a book about the fascinating history, but other than that we didn’t know much about what to expect. We couldn’t wait to visit!
We did not think Tirana would be so beautifully located near the mountains and the lake. We absolutely loved the diversity of buildings – from low rise to high rise and from very old to modern. The kind of chaos we really personally love. Also the food was absolutely amazing, and the people extremely friendly and helpful. Every time we asked for directions, people walked with us all the way to our destination. Without an exception!
6-What do you think about most places spotted by Tirana locals in general? Is there room for improvement? Are they very different from places spotted by locals in other countries?
Every city has very different spots. And that’s good! If all cities would be the same, what would be the point of traveling? The great thing about Albania for tourists: there are few big chains like Starbucks & McDonalds – companies that are increasingly making many cities look alike.
We think the spots our locals spotted give a very good impression of what locals like to do in Tirana. We think our locals did a great job writing about the spots with the best price/quality ratio, and the coolest hotspots nowadays.
Some of our favorites: culture at Tulla, drinks at Radio Bar, coffee at E7E and the amazing food & friendly service at Mrizi i Zanave.
7-Do you plan to visit Albania again in the future? What changes do you hope to see?
Oh yes! When our Tirana team changes, we’ll have to come back. There’s so much we didn’t see yet – we’d love to go back any time. And we would really like to do a trekking holiday in Albania – the country has just about anything we love: mountains for hiking, pristine beaches, great food, friendly locals and few tourists.
As for what changes we’d like to see: we just hope Tirana will stay itself, and doesn’t try to be like other European cities. Albanian culture has so many unique aspects – we hope to see even more of it next time!
