Madrid launches a tourist guide for mobile phones
Almasalla Travel News – Ashraf El gedawy – MADRID, Spain – Madrid launched a new Official Guide, a mobile app created by Madrid Visitors&Convention Bureau, offering everything visitors need to make their stay in the city an unforgettable experience. This new tool for promoting tourism is available in four languages – Spanish, English, French, and German – and, unlike most mobile guides for other top destinations, requires no data connection: it only requires an initial download.
The guide includes all the essential information to plan a trip to the city, geolocalized info on over 600 points of interest, official guided tours, audio guides, tourist routes, and a comprehensive events schedule. All this data enables visitors to create a tailor-made plan they can refer to and which will enhance their stay at a destination attracting over 8 million visitors each year.
This new promotional instrument encompassing the capital city’s tourist attractions reflects Madrid City Council’s commitment to innovation and the application of new technology in the tourism industry. By transforming and enhancing the city’s official tourism portal, esMADRID.com [ www.esmadrid.com/ ], this project will culminate in a series of digital platforms and integrated communication channels.
MULTI-LANGUAGE PLATFORM
The Official Guide to Madrid can be downloaded via iPhone and android platforms, and all contents, except the agenda, are available in the four languages of the main nationalities visiting the city. Information on events is in Spanish and English.
Users need only download the app onto their mobile to be able to access the contents when and where they like. Plus, if they have a data connection, they can update all the available information, including the agenda, which is updated daily.
The app has seven large sections: “Essential information," “Not to be missed," “What can I do in…?," “Eating out," “Shopping," “Nightlife," and “Guided tours," along with the agenda, a map, and a search function. It also comes with a feature called “My trip," where visitors can bookmark all their favorite things to make sure they don’t miss anything.
OVER 600 IDEAS
The city has an infinite choice of things to do, so make the selection process easier, the tool includes over 600 points of interest for tourists, arranged in various categories such as shops, restaurants, museums, monuments, theatres, parks, nightlife, etc. It also gives visitors lots of ideas for each area of the city. It offers suggestions for sightseeing, eating, shopping, or having fun in 17 areas in the city: Hapsburg district, Literary Quarter, Casa de Campo Park, Castellana, Chamberi, Chueca, Conde Duque, Gran Via/Sol, La Latina, Lavapies, Madrid Río Park, Malasana, Art Walk, Princesa, El Retiro Park, Salamanca, and Salesas.
All major events (including exhibitions, musicals and concerts, theatre, and sporting events) can be accessed through the agenda. This enables visitors to quickly and intuitively find everything of interest to them on a given day: today, tomorrow, or the next day.
NOT TO BE MISSED
Thanks to this guide, visitors can also use their mobile to access all essential information on Madrid, such as the different transport systems or the tourist transport pass, the locations and opening times of tourist centers, as well as all the important phone numbers of interest or the accessible services and infrastructures around the city. Plus, it gives them not-to-be-missed ideas for 1- or 2-day visits, even for a rainy Monday, along with plenty of free options for having a great time in the city.
The “Guided Tours" feature includes information on official routes organized by Madrid Visitors&Convention Bureau, as well as audio guides for two popular areas of the city: the Hapsburg district and the Art Walk. There are also 5 other routes of interest for tourists that reveal Madrid’s history, personalities, and hidden secrets.
