BY: RACHELLE M. NESSIA
CEBU CITY, August 5 (PIA) --- The provincial government of Cebu has signed an agreement with Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) and Cebu-based new media startup InnoPub Media formalizing the rollout of its Digital Tourism project in the province.
The signing held August 4 was led by Cebu Gov. Hilario P. Davide III with SMART Senior Manager for Public Affairs Visayas and Mindanao Atty. Maria Jane Paredes, InnoPub Co-Founder Max Limpag, and Cebu Provincial Information Officer Ethel Natera.
The governor said the project will help make tourists’ visit in the province more convenient, especially those visiting the province for the first time.
“They don’t have to bring with them maps or books about Cebu anymore,” said Davide.
According to Limpag, digital tourism utilizes mobile technology to deliver timely, accurate, and relevant tourism, cultural, and historical information on their mobile devices.
“By providing tourists with context and correct information with relevant information will make their visit much more meaningful and memorable, and they will hopefully keep coming back,” he said.
Interactive markers will be set up in identified tourist spots bearing quick response (QR) codes and near field communication chips (NFC) which visitors can scan using their smartphones and this will trigger the download of information about the tourist site.
Under the project, free ebooks and apps will be produced to serve as tourism guides.
“Printed guidebooks are expensive, and also they are limited in the sense that a limited space is allotted for some places because of the limited number of pages,” explained Limpag.
The ebooks, he said, will answers questions of most visitors coming to Cebu such as accommodations, where to eat, and what to do .
The project is also seen to address the lack of tourism markers in Cebu, which came up as a common tourism issue hampering the creation of new tourism products during the 2012 Tourism Congress, said Limpag.
“Tourists didn’t know the significance of a place because there were no markers, and whatever markers were available contained only limited information,” he said.
Limpag said the digital tourism project will provide a better solution since it uses QR codes, and the system will provide more information about the tourist site.
He also announced that they recently made available an app for Androids, “that you download once and use it everywhere even without Internet connection.”
The mobile guide contains a portable directory of service providers accredited with the Department of Tourism (DOT) or the local government unit, such as tour guides, tour operators, transport services, and hotels.
The digital tourism project was first implemented in Carcar City, Argao, and Boljoon.
It is now currently being deployed in the ‘BOSS’ tourism circuit of Boljoon, Oslob, Samboan, and Santander.
The project is set to be expanded to cover other areas in the province. (RMN/PIA Cebu)