Local search key for 2010

Article by www.ioltechnology.co.za

Location based services accessed mostly through the cellphone will be key in ensuring the 2010 World Cup is a success and that tourists are able to fully experience the diverse country in which we live, according to Magnus Rademeyer, MD of location based services company, AfriGIS.

The locations of places South Africans visit regularly are something people take for granted. However, in the run up to the World Cup, Rademeyer says people need to ask themselves a number of questions including how easy is it for overseas tourists to get around in South Africa?

Needing credible maps

When tourists arrive for the World Cup, they may have accommodation booked for the first part of their stay, but thereafter they’ll be looking for accommodation, places to visit, transportation, restaurants and so on. In 2010 the connected society will be even more of a reality than today and standard cellphone or other wireless device such as smartphones or PDAs will give them the freedom to keep their options open and look for things that interest them. But what will they find and will that information be accurate? Rademeyer says.

“The cellphone and other wireless devices will give them the freedom to keep their options open and look for things that interest them. But what will they find and will that information be accurate?”

While GPS cellphones, smartphones and navigating devices have proliferated the market, the maps and points of interest (POI) accessed through these devices are not always accurate. If the POI list on the device does not list the restaurant, shopping centre or hotel the tourist is looking for, then they’ll go to a listed location. Similarly, when tourists use a cellphone to browse the mobile web, they will visit the places and businesses that have given them adequate information about their locations.

The current reality is that if tourists start browsing for information from a cellphone when they land in the country, they will need to look hard to start finding any location based information. Currently services like Look4it already provide a wealth of information, but many tourists are probably not aware of it.

What can be done?

Websites/mobisites should include interactive maps, which can be used to plot routes and offer information about the area. Tourists will soon realise that they can’t just hop on the subway and cruise to another part of the city or a nearby town like they would in first world countries.

Secondly, social media cellphone applications like The Grid, Facebook and others will also play a key role, according to Rademeyer. As tourists visit places, they will be able to leave comments at specific locations on these applications’ digital maps about what they experienced there. Other tourists will be able to read those comments by clicking on the location and decide whether they want to visit the location or not based on what other people have said.

Companies also need to facilitate user comments on their websites/mobisites and blogs to give tourists more of an understanding of what they may experience there.

Thirdly, Rademeyer says companies need to support initiatives that look to enhance the South Africa’s geographical information.

This could include making geographical location available to companies that supply map data to GPS vendors and map books as well as registering with general and industry specific websites like the Yellow Pages, 24.com and the Tourism Enterprise Programme.

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