The urban experience market is a growing and increasingly competitive field for actors in the experience economy, Sebastian Brunner, a brand and user experience strategist at the consultancy Strategy & Space, said at the ITB Convention in Berlin.

Brunner says that this is because for a growing number of tourists, the cities and countries they choose visit are experiences in themselves.

“These experiences are the status symbols of tomorrow, and they are recognized as such on social media thanks to shared photos, for example,” said Brunner.

As a result city trips in Europe have seen strong growth in recent years. Brunner sees a trend of residents of smaller towns in Germany going more and more to cities for experiences they cannot get at home.

Still, this concentration of experiences in urban spaces creates winners and losers, and cities need to innovate to capitalize on this trend, he added.

Some cities are using new technologies like virtual reality to highlight certain features or aspects of their history, said Robert Eysoldt, a brands communications consultant at Zero Overhead.

A company called TimeRide in Cologne, Germany, for example, enables visitors to experience Cologne at different points in its history thanks to a VR headset that is integrated with the city’s public transport network.

“It’s a beautiful way to make visible a history that was destroyed by war or development,” said Eysoldt.

Eysoldt said he expects other cities with interesting histories like Berlin will find ways to utilize VR technology as well.

Cities can also show off their creative communities and tech scenes with events or community-based experiences.

Berlin is home to one concept called FabLab, where engineers and technology fans can meet to build prototypes that cannot be built at home like 3D printers, said Eysoldt.

Still, Brunner said an understanding of how spaces function and are used by people is essential when designing these experiences.

“You need an understanding of the most important contact points and individual elements that impact an experience,” said Brunner. “These experiences are here to help fully develop human potential.”

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