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San Franciscoís tourists are a significant part of our economy. We are proud of San Francisco and most San Franciscan’s love showing off their city. To lock in San Francisco as one of the best tourist destinations in the world we could easily create a citizen-led tourist guide service. If managed carefully, this concept would cost the city absolutely nothing.
The concept is simple. The city uses viral and other free channels including sfconnect.org to advertise the concept of volunteer guides. We attract citizens who have detailed insight regarding the various neighborhoods of San Francisco. To be ìapprovedî as a volunteer tourist guide, you simply have to pass a background check and then buy a yellow beret or scarf from an online outsourced ecommerce site (colors negotiable). The proceeds from the barest and scarves and other city apparel available to the general public fund the meager budget required for the operationÖspecifically to pay for the background checks and the meter fund (more on that later).
Participants simply agree to wear the hat or scarf when they go out and feel that have time for the effort. The city advertises the existence of the guides through the Convention and Visitors Bureau and other available channels. Participants simply agree to provide directions, restaurant recommendations, and suggestions for activities and events to do in the city when approached by a tourist. They also agree to approach anyone that looks like they are lost and offer assistance. Leveraging Google maps, a potential sponsor, volunteers will be encouraged to create shareable maps of their neighborhoods with their personal recommendations for what to do, see, and eat there. A very small fund will also be available to volunteers to feed meters for tourists in the form of five dollar rolls of quarters given out whenever a volunteer stops by the office (once per day maximum). These quarters are to be used to feed expired meters where the car is clearly a tourist rental (obvious stickers, markings, and models). While this activity will be kept to a minimum cap for the tourist guide service, tourist guides will be encouraged to do the same from their own pocket change. While this activity may have a small impact on parking ticket collections, this should be more than offset by the great free publicity the city will get thus increasing the numbers of visitors. Additionally, collecting parking tickets from out-of-town guests using rental cars is likely the hardest revenue to collect thus alleviating a nuisance for parking officials. (It should be noted that this meter concept has been borrowed from Brisbane, Australia Meter Fairies employed by the city feed meters for visitors each summer ñ a story told by every Australian and noted in every guidebook providing huge buzz and good will for the city.)
Ken Pulverman
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