SatSports, which provides GPS devices for outdoor athletes, in partnership with HTC and Tourism Vancouver, has announced what it claims is the worlds first ever complete interactive tourist and sporting event mobile application. By providing live updated information, streaming of information, and street navigation for the world tourists descending on Vancouver next year the city is due to house the Winter Olympics – the companies say they have created an app that will change the way visitors experience the city and events. With SMS capabilities, the app also allows Tourism Vancouver to interact with visitors anywhere in the city, no matter what their activity.
The Integrated Tourism & Events Mobile App being will offers users live updates via SMS from Tourism Vancouver, notifying them of event time changes, points of interest, competition result updates, weather reports and news flashes. It also includes mapping and navigation to all points of local interest, stations, hotels, restaurants, and Tourism Vancouver listings
As the launch of the application gets closer, new features and compatibility will be announced, the companies say. These include what they describe as: a unique method for tourists to document their Vancouver experience. The application will also provide transport planner and emergency service contacts, along with visitor centre locations for further information. And from January through March 2010, the app will include a free version of the award-winning interactive Satski GPS skiing and boarding application for skiers in nearby Whistler.
The app runs on Windows Mobile and Android devices, and will be available for download via the Tourism Vancouver website.