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Titanic Trail puts Belfast at heart of digital tourism revolution
8 August 2006
One hundred years ago, the city of Belfast was at the cutting edge of industrial technology.
Today, the city once again finds itself a world leader – this time in digital technology.
Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board have launched the world`s first interactive multi-media digital tourism trail and, appropriately, it is based around the city’s most famous product, Titanic.
The trail is launched at the same time as a new heritage guide – focussing on the history of shipbuilding, and in particular Harland and Wolff – published by the Council.
The Belfast Titanic Trail uses the latest GPS-based technology, the Node Explorer, to take visitors back to the future, leading them on a tour of the city sites associated with the Titanic story, from the grounds of City Hall to Queen`s Island, before finishing by presenting them with a vision of how Titanic Quarter will look.
Using a portable, robust media player, which is both user-friendly and ultra-modern, the Node Explorer – being used for the first time in Belfast – uses a combination of the latest computer technology, still images, video footage, dramatic reconstructions, text and audio clips to take users on a fully interactive trip through time, telling the story of the mighty Titanic and the people associated with her.
The Belfast Titanic Trail is envisaged as being the first of many such interactive tours which the Council hopes to develop, in association with its partners.
“We are committed to the ongoing development of new and innovative products which will appeal to the growing number of visitors to Belfast each year,” said Councillor Diane Dodds, chairman of the Council`s Tourism Sub-Committee.
“The launch of the interactive Titanic Trail comes at an exciting time, especially with the development of the Titanic Quarter due to start in the near future.
"However, the possibilities for this ground-breaking technology are virtually limitless, and it would be our hope that it can be developed to cover the entire city and offer much, much more for visitors to explore.”
Alan Clarke, chief executive of Northern Ireland Tourist Board, said: “The digital Titanic Trail will be an amazing experience for our visitors.
"Not only will they be able to guide themselves through Belfast`s industrial and maritime history but they will do it in a high quality, leading edge manner.
"It gives us yet another tool by which we can deliver a memorable experience and exceed visitor expectations, thus helping to gain a competitive advantage for Northern Ireland as a tourist destination.”
John Bustard, managing director of Awakin Ltd, who developed the innovative project, added: “The Explorer has given us the ability to revolutionise the tourist experience, especially in the presentation and interpretation of heritage sites, visitor attractions, cityscapes and many other tourism experiences, offering our visitors an unrivalled engagement with the city, past and present.
"We hope that this project will pave the way for more of these interactive digital tours – and even further expansion into other forms of digital media.”
The Belfast Titanic Trail starts from the Welcome Centre in Donegall Place, from where the handheld Node Explorer units can be hired, for £8 for three hours.
For further details, contact the Welcome Centre on 028 9024 6609.
The complementary Belfast Titanic Heritage Guide is also available from the Welcome Centre, and other outlets throughout the city.
Diane Dodds said: “The Titanic Heritage Guide is an innovative piece of literature to help guide people around the city and Titanic Quarter.
"The Titanic was a remarkable ship and, despite her tragic sinking five days later, she remains a source of enduring pride in the city where she was built – Belfast.
“This guide will take people on a journey through the history of shipbuilding in Belfast, and in particular, the story of the firm which built Titanic, Harland and Wolff.
"People can learn about Titanic itself, from the visionaries who conceived her, to the men who designed and built her, to her ill-fated maiden voyage."
"The guide will also take people around the many locations in Belfast associated with the world`s most famous ship, from the magnificent Belfast City Hall to the iconic cranes which have dominated the cityscape for so many years,” she added.
ENDS
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