Ever gone on holiday in Galway and been swamped by bundles of interesting tourism brochures as you try to decide what you want to see and where you want to go? Ever wished you could have read them before you left home and decided your trip in advance? Well, those days have arrived.
No longer will you be wasting your valuable vacation time wading through a mountain of printed information when you can browse and get what you really need before you leave home, selecting the information you want and storing it until you need it when you actually arrive on your trip.
Introducing iPages Ireland — an innovative new free app for the iPad which revolutionises the way visitors are going to view Irish tourism information, allowing users to pick and choose the relevant information they need and to avail of offers and discounts in the locations they are visiting.
Developed by professional designer Mike Fitzpatrick of Bullet Design in Galway, the stunning digital interactive magazines are downloaded to the iPad and in the hands of tourists thinking of visiting Ireland. With the latest information about Ireland delivered county by county each with its own digital magazine. With history, sightseeing hotspots, special activities, accommodation, events listing through photos, video and audio files, web links, maps and informative articles this app will deliver a unique visual representation of Ireland to the user, with such tag lines as 'All you should know before you you go.' and 'Ireland on an iPad'
The first edition of iPages Ireland, based on Galway, went live on the Apple App Store this week and already it is a hit, with tourism promoters and potential tourists impressed with the sleek design and easy to use pages. Hear the voices and sounds of your destination before you leave home, watch historical video clips, download coupons, offers and vouchers to your iPad without having to carry around an armful of brochures.
Mr Fitzpatrick is confident that iPages Ireland can be transferred to every tourism location in the country and the first Galway Lite Version gives a real feel for the potential for spreading the tourist message via new technologies such as the iPad and other tablet devices.
Ambitious developments are planned and there are steps to introduce it to top tourist attractions in Europe and the UK in the future. For now Mr Fitzpatrick says, 'We are going to concentrate on Ireland, expand the first Galway edition and create as many magazines for other counties in 2012."
The app also offers great marketing and advertising opportunities for businesses in the hospitality sector as the technology will allow visitors to be guided to the finest stores and hostelries in the city, with the app using the latest GPS technology to virtually take the tourists by the hand and lead them to where they want to go.
iPages Ireland is set to revolutionise the way that tourists find out information on their vacations, changing their habits to allow them prepare more before they travel so that they get maximum satisfaction from their time in Ireland. Mr Fitzpatrick believes it has enormous potential for the eight million tourists who visit Ireland every year.
“We needed to get the Galway Lite Edition Live as soon as possible to show the potential of iPages Ireland. We also want to encourage all event organisers, and people who have a genuine interest in promoting our great city, to get in touch. We invite participants to let us know if we omitted any festivals, events, places of interest etc.. so that we can make sure they are included in the full version which we will have ready to update very soon with all interactive features active.
“After that it’s time to create a Galway County edition with all the things to see and do in the surrounding towns and villages. With 2012 being one of our most important tourist years ever, and events as significant as the Volvo Ocean Race, it is crucial we show our city off to its full potential,” he said.
The app is free to download on the Apple App Store Today. Get an eyeful of iPages Ireland.
