Detailed description of project
The ICT solution focuses in both two pilot areas in Greece: the Pieria – Mount Olympus and Imathia. Both two pilot areas will benefit from the Med Pearls ICT solution that will be developed from DOTSOFT SA.
The ICT solution will be applied in the context of all touristic packages that are being developed from the tour agencies that are sub grantees in the Med Pearls project.
Specifically, GINO will be used from visitors that purchase some of the touristic packages offered by the four tour agencies, in order to:
- provide more detailed information about the local areas and points of interest that are part of the guided routes and tours provided by the four agencies (ex. Written historical information, narrations in other than English language, photographs and images, etc.)
- guide visitors by suggesting leisure and other activities, routes and trails (ex. Mountain trails by foot, horse riding, kayaking, sailing, surfing, etc.)
- demonstrate how locals “live” in Greece, ex. What they usually drink, eat or do in different times within a day (i.e. “live like Greek” motto)
- provide information about local shops and crafts, or other slow tourism related places, i.e. answering questions like “where can I buy locals crafts?”, “where can I listen to traditional music”, etc.
- Provide information about local events and festivals, through engaging audiovisual material (songs, dances, etc.).
- Visitors that wish to follow a more self-guided approach that follows the slow tourism philosophy can also benefit from the GINO app. The app will provide the above mentioned information, along with an ‘augmented reality” / AR AVATAR that will help them plan their trip on their own. The app will ask questions to understand the preferences, likes and dislikes of the expected visitors, the “type” of tourist (ex. Solo explorer, or family edition, young and friendly) and then suggest ROUTES and POIs they can visit. It will answer questions like:
- Where should I stay?
- What should we eat or drink?
- Which places should we visit?
- How can we meet with locals?
- What should we keep in mind for protecting the local culture and habits?
- What should we do to best protect our nature and environment?
- What places can I visit or where can I have meaningful experiences if I am pregnant, or using a wheelchair, or having physical disabilities?
- What kind of activities can I follow if I’m supervising a kid with autism?
The app will provide information for all of the above questions, through:
- Maps (using several layers keynoting different types of activities and thematic tours / challenges)
- Filtered menus for POIs related with nature, local habits, food, drink, athletics and leisure, etc.
- Making “alive” special places and areas through the use of augmented reality (ex. Pointing to Olympus mountain, Zeus may appear in a digital form”, or when visiting the Aristotle Academia – the teacher of Great Alexander, a virtual “class” may appear in the phone screen.
- Trip planning facility, especial for visitors choosing self guided holidays
- Tips and guidelines of how to best protect local nature and environment through a modern and gamified way (ex. Through quizzes), thus promoting environmental awareness
- Following the 10 rules for slow tourism, i.e. things like “choose recycled water bottles”, “prefer straws from natural plants”, “opt for locally cooked food”, “style yourself with a straw hat”, etc.
- Guidelines of how to feel safe in the mountains (information given by enjoy travel agency), through short cartoon-animation like “episodes”. For example: “what should I bring with me when following a trail path in Olympus”? “What should I wear?”, “What should I do if any sudden event occurs?”
In this way, visitors will not feel “foreigners” to the local community, but they are expected to get engaged in the customs, activities and habits of the locals, while exploiting meaningful experiences.
Type and scope of work provided
- Media data collection
- Mobile application
- AR components
- Deployment testing
