Write a commentDelegates from almost 50 businesses from throughout the Newry, Mourne and Down District area have attended an event focusing on how new technology, such as AR, can be used to add value and enrich visitor experiences at hospitality and tourism destinations in Northern Ireland. ‘Exploring Augmented Reality for the Hospitality & Tourism Industry’ was held at the Montalto Estate in Ballynahinch.
The event was held by Digital NMD, an innovative collaboration led by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in conjunction with Southern Regional College and South Eastern Regional College, partnered with the BCS NI - The Chartered Institute for IT.
Speakers included Dr. Nick Whitelegg, senior lecturer in Computing at Southampton Solent University and developer of "Hikar" - an augmented reality Android app for hikers; and Dave Vincent, Chief Digital Officer at Tourism NI who spoke to attendees about how new technologies can be exploited to the benefit of businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Augmented Reality (AR) can be broadly defined as any video or 3D augmentation overlaid on a screen that is used to view the real world (most commonly via a smartphone camera) and is increasingly being used to improve tourism experiences.
Speaking after the event, Cllr. Michael Savage - Chairperson of the Strategy Policy and Resources Committee, in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, said:
“It was great to see so many businesses interested in learning about the benefits of Augmented Reality and how the technology can present many opportunities for our tourism businesses.
“Tourism continues to develop as a major growth sector bringing both economic benefits and reputational advantage to Newry, Mourne and Down. It is a priority for our Council to continue to support local businesses to ensure that they are as fully equipped as they can be to tackle what has become a highly competitive business environment.”
Dave Vincent, Chief Digital Officer with Tourism NI, took the opportunity to launch the 2018 Small Business Research Initiatives (SBRI) Tourism AR Challenge at the event, providing attendees with an overview of the competition and the opportunity to secure funding to aid in the development of new innovative and creative solutions that address a challenge or need in the market.
"We're very excited to launch this year's Tourism AR Challenge and with a substantial investment of £200,000 to develop the winning project, this will encourage developers to be even more creative and innovative in their tourism-focussed digital proposals," said Dave.
Following talks from both speakers, attendees at the event were given the opportunity to experience AR technology for themselves with a live demonstration of the Hikar app in the grounds surrounding Montalto Estate. The Hikar mobile application uses AR to clearly map and highlight path and trail options to hikers and walkers.
Paul Kelly, BCS Northern Ireland commented: “We are thrilled with the success of today’s event. It’s great to see so many local businesses that operate in the tourism and hospitality sector take an interest in the emerging technology of AR and how they can use this to their advantage. Tourism is an area of huge growth for Northern Ireland, particularly in this area and BCS Northern Ireland is delighted to support Newry, Mourne and Down Council in raising awareness of these types of technologies and how they can be incorporated by businesses to add value to visitor experiences.”
