From Paphos to Zagreb: Technology is helping visitors see ancient cities through a new lens - Euronews

Imagine travelling to a metropolis wherever each the tourer offers are disposable connected an app and successful your autochthonal language. Where you don’t request to queue for galleries due to the fact that installations tin beryllium conjured up utilizing your smartphone. Or wherever virtual world (VR) reconstructions of humanities events respire beingness into heritage sites.

Smart cities are redefining tourism.

Two years of pandemic-related question restrictions changed the mode we acquisition the world. Virtual tours helped america research destinations from the comfortableness of our couches, and business travel waned arsenic video calls took over.

Now borders person reopened, countries are capitalising connected this exertion to pull tourists and heighten their experiences.

The word ‘smart city’ mightiness marque you deliberation of robots walking the streets, flying cars crossing the skies oregon artificial quality controlling nationalist services. The world is somewhat different, but nary little exciting.

Being a astute metropolis means lasting retired successful accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation, creativity and protection of taste heritage.

Denmark’s superior led the mode connected this adjacent earlier the pandemic. The Copenhagen Visitor Service invites tourists to program their itineraries with the assistance of interaction surface guides, robotics and VR goggles, portion an app disseminates accusation and collects information to assistance amended the service.

Hoping to articulation these ranks, destinations similar Zagreb successful Croatia and Paphos successful Cyprus spare nary effort. They are utilizing technologies specified arsenic augmented world (AR) to make virtual experiences that are usually reserved for the gaming industry.

These initiatives person seen some cities shortlisted for the 2023 European Capital of Smart Tourism, a contention that recognises outstanding achievements by European cities arsenic tourism destinations.

AR transforms Zagreb into a elephantine virtual creation exhibition

Last month, the Zagreb Tourist Board teamed up with exertion institution Equinox to crook the superior of Croatia into a elephantine virtual creation exhibition, dubbed Art Future.

Visitors were invited to download the Equinox XR app connected their phones. Once they reached the determination of a peculiar ‘installation’, they could unfastened their camera connected the app and the artwork was overlaid successful AR - a acquainted acquisition for immoderate Pokémon GO players retired there.

“Augmented world is simply a exertion that enables radical to acquisition virtual content, embedded successful the existent satellite which surrounds them," explains Ivan Voras, laminitis of Equinox and method manager of the exhibition.

"This tin beryllium achieved done peculiar hardware similar glasses, but it's overmuch much businesslike and reaches a wider assemblage presently to bash it done mobile phones.” 

Nineteen modern artists, animators and 3D modellers from astir the satellite displayed their ‘locative art’ - virtual art successful real-life locations - astatine Art Future. 

“Visitors and residents [could] presumption artwork created by large planetary artists successful astir each quadrate oregon parkland crossed the city,” says Ivan. Themes covered the polarising satellite of NFTs, the healing powerfulness of art, and conceptual solutions to global warming.

This was not the archetypal clip Equinox teamed up with the Zagreb Tourist Board for a future-forward exhibition. At Christmas, they placed animated and interactive acquisition boxes astir the metropolis for radical to find.

Both projects created integer exhibits firmly rooted successful the existent satellite - and demonstrated however tech tin beryllium utilized to heighten tourist attractions without the request for large infrastructure.

Paphos brings its mythical practice sites to beingness done your smartphone

Paphos successful southwest Cyprus is simply a fashionable tourer destination. The coastal metropolis is known arsenic the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, and its past remains person earned it UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

Leveraging the city’s mythical past successful futuristic fashion, the Paphos tourism committee has developed an app that allows users to bring its fabled past to life.

The Aphrodite’s Birthplace app interacts with 3 antithetic scenes of the myth.

"By pointing your instrumentality to assorted locations connected the beach, the app allows you to acquisition an animated Aphrodite successful a real-world environment,” explains Nasos Hadjigeorgiou, caput of the Paphos determination committee of tourism.

Users tin presumption Aphrodite rising from the waves arsenic she is calved oregon spy her relaxing connected the formation successful augmented reality.

"The main crushed for america to usage AR is to person the intangible portion of the acquisition into tangible, providing digital accusation and enactment successful a real-world environment," says Nasos.

Soon, culture lovers funny successful learning much astir Aphrodite's story volition person a caller instrumentality astatine their service.

"We are successful the last signifier of processing a implicit app astir the story of Aphrodite. This volition see accusation and places that are connected with the Goddess's commencement and life," says Nasos.

Besides this caller app, the Paphos tourism committee has large plans for its smart tourism project.

"We are besides investing heavy successful astute signs, converting static signs to interactive [ones],” says Nasos. This volition bring 360-degree tours, audio guides successful respective languages, videos and photos to visitors’ fingertips.

What tin travellers expect from astute destinations successful the future?

As the tourism assemblage continues to clasp technology, astute destinations are apt to go the norm.

This tin materialise successful thousands of ways, creating smoother, much memorable and personalised experiences for tourists.

Museums volition go much interactive, landmarks could beryllium digitally overlaid with humanities photos and information, and tourists mightiness beryllium capable to spot however busy attractions are successful existent clip truthful they tin program their visits accordingly.

Tourism boards volition leverage exertion successful ever much originative ways, blurring the lines betwixt the digital and carnal worlds. For example, Visit Sweden precocious launched ‘Spellbound by Sweden’, a folklore-filled audiobook whose ending tin lone beryllium heard erstwhile you are physically contiguous successful a Swedish forest.

There is inactive a immense spread to flooded betwixt accepted destinations and the astute cities we privation to visit. But the advancements we are seeing successful tourism already springiness america a sensation of what question volition beryllium successful the future.