geoaudio_geotourism_re_invented

N. ÁVILA – nuno.avila@deimos.com.pt (Deimos Engenharia, SA, General Manager) S. BALAU – simaosantosbalau@gmail.com (ESHTE – Escola Superior de Hotelaria e Turismo do Estoril, CESTUR) S. PRAZERES – sprazeres@seeyourdreams.com (See Your Dreams, lda, Technical Manager)

ABSTRACT: The concept of Geotourism encompasses the coordination of interpretative facilities and services to promote the value and social benefits of sites, geomorphological and geological materials, as well its preservation for the use of students, tourists or others with recreational or leisure interest. It is known that the Value of the sites is measured by the experience these can provide to the Visitor. The use of augmented reality technologies, geolocated and available in the field open a new paradigm of interaction of the Visitor with the surroundings, therefore amplifying the concept GeoTourism.

KEYWORDS: Geotourism, Tourism, Geotourist, Geoaudio.

1. INTRODUCTION - DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT GEOTOURISM Geotourism relates to nature tourism - or ecotourism; relates to cultural tourism and to scientific/knowledge tourism. It can be considered of broad scope in terms of target visitors, which means the need to satisfy a wide audience, bearing multidisciplinary interests and several education levels. Also, it takes place predominantly in countryside settings, outdoors, in areas of relevant biophysical and often subject to special protection status, so that the promotion of responsible and sustainable tourism attitude is also central to the initiatives (Dowling, 2008).

According to (Dowling, 2008), geotourism encompasses five main aspects. These are: · The Creation authentic geotourism products; · The Conservation of geosites; · The Communication of geological heritage; · The Construction of a community; · The Cooperation with a range of stakeholders.

Because it is a convergence of eco-tourism, experiential tourism and cultural tourism (Manrique, oral communication) there are evident difficulties in mastering such specific and at the same time, diversified reality. Several needs should be fulfilled to effectively promote geotourism. From the structural point of view the biggest gap is perhaps the lack of strategic programs for the development of tourism. So, it is of no surprise that the lack of knowledge among entrepreneurs and institutions on existing resources, greatly limits the number of initiatives in the country. On the other hand, at operational level, the scarcity of guiding skills (field guides) and interpretative elements contribute to sub-optimal conditions for proper valuation of such sites 2. GEOTOURIST CHARACTERIZATION According to Hose (2000), there are two kinds of Geotourists: The Geotourist expert who intentionally selects the sites looking for an opportunity of a pleasant experience of self-education and intellectual enrichment; and occasional geotourist who visits sites without a specific purpose other that getting some pleasure and intellectual stimulation.

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Table 1. Geotourist Profile.

· · · · · · · ·

Geotourist average profile (Hose, 2000) Does not plan the visit in advance. The visit to a geosite happens by change; Do not have field experience and cannot "read" maps; It is over thirty and comes in small groups of friends and /or family; Has an average reading ability. At least half of the tourists cannot show better reading skills than a thirteen year old child; Has an average education; It is not acquainted to geo-conservation issues; Spends about one minute reading the interpretative panels. 75% of the tourists just ignore them or give them minimal attention; Enjoys sightseeing tours and field trips led by experts.

Tourists, visiting a region, want to discover sites and landscapes, taste local cuisine, participate in some leisure activities, and get some insight into the ethnographies and history of the local community.

Visitors feel the need to learn while making recreational use of a territory through sports and recreational practices.

A tourism experience which is coupled to good information becomes much more than simple entertainment. It converts into an unique opportunity to create a closer relationship with the person, providing him/her memorable experience that captures the imagination and triggers the curiosity and desire to learn.

3. RE-INVENTING THE GEOTOURISM An information system (IS) designed for such multiple interactions, while making use of the geolocation capability becomes relevant for the innovation and competitiveness it brings about. In fact it is known that competitiveness through cooperation can encourage the increase of relations between the various agents involved in socio-economic sector of tourism and with the users, improving the way the products and services offered in each region are shown (Chen, 2007).

The geolocation capabilities add value to products and services, taking on the geographic information technologies a key role in the use of IS. The geolocation of sites is complemented by specific information that provides greater awareness of existing resources (Haines-Young et al., 1994).

When enriched with multimedia content of geographical, natural, historical and cultural nature, the system tends to increase its attractiveness to tourists and visitors. One of the great overheads of tourism activity which is the maintenance and updating available data become also much simpler and less costly. The information contained in traditional media such as pamphlets, magazines and brochures is now replaced by digital files, conveniently updatable and distributable.

At the same time, digital contents provision and distribution assume a new relevance in terms of market potential as these become the basis of tourism management systems. In fact, the great advantage of such contents is that costs incurred by distribution are reduced to a minimum by setting up a multimedia database, managed locally and available through the Internet (Benabdallah & Soltane, 1996).

Among the most interesting multimedia contents to be available in the field is the audio file.

Because it is lightly intrusive and makes use of hearing, which is less saturated with information Page 168 Geoaudio - Geotourism re-invented

4. GEOAUDIO - A CASE STUDY The GeoAudio project is a platform for reproducing 3D geo-referenced audio in a cell phone. It targets the most intuitive way of accessing audio information during a tourist trip, being it a walk through the mountains, or in a urban environment, so that the user learns about what he/she is currently viewing. More than a mere descriptive guide to a monument or rocky outcrop, the GeoAudio proposes an immersive audio trip brings the listener-tourist to an augmented reality where he/she can almost “visualize� the guide that is walking along the path describing the revolving context as he/she moves.

The audio contents, previously generated in the field and recording studio are available in a georeferenced database, and are automatically selected to the passage of the subject, following it along the route. Much more than an ordinary audio guide, the GeoAudio ensures an intelligent exposure to the content. The audio player and the mobile phone GPS (iPhone, Blackberry or Android) interact, adapting in real time the speech and sound effects to the pace of the individual, for instance, increasing or lowering volume, creating the illusion of movement of the speaker, or pausing while the person stops to watch something (Smart system).

With GeoAudio, the listening experience assume the maximum value when the contents available in the application have an audio recording format that reproduces very closely the human perception of sound surrounding landscape (3D audio). This innovative concept can be provided by GeoAudio is called holophony or auditory illusion, and is achieved through special techniques of audio recording studio, playing a unique three-dimensional perception of sound.

One of the great advantages of this type of application is to be totally self-sufficient, not requiring any infrastructure in the field. To the user everything happens naturally, without worries or constraints other than be equipped with headphones for better hearing. Contents can be conveniently downloaded into the application before the journey or accessed via streaming on the field in case there are Internet access points available.

For the management body of the tourist site, the lack of infrastructure in the field assumes real cost savings in investment and maintenance of equipment, and the resources can be concentrated in what is most important which is the quality of the content. The contents can be publicly accessible on the website of the organization and / or available for download at the park headquarters by Wi-Fi hot spot.

Other advantages of the application is to provide the user with a permanent and accessible history of the route. This can be useful while planning the trip, during which the user pre-selects or search for the contents referenced by topics of interest (e.g. native plant species, rocky outcrops, specific habitats, birds, etc.), but also constitutes a post-visit valuable aid to tasks such as reporting, reconstruction of events or simply the revisits of the subject matter.

GeoAudio emerges as an answer to the need for a high-availability, versatile platform for tourist purposes in any type of context (urban, rural, mountain, etc.). Hence a concept that can be easily extended and complemented by related geographic information (thematic mapping, PoI, etc.) or other features that you can be imagined.

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(the field trip is mainly visual), the audio tends to be an excellent vehicle for information, because it can coexists and complement the sensorial journey that is taking place without disturbing it. On the other hand, from a technical standpoint, the audio information files can be stored and reproduced in small, portable, personal widespread mobile devices such as as mobile phones.

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But what is the real applicability of Geoaudio? What is the target user of such applications?

Definitely, tourism. Tourist offices, cultural centers, museums, exhibitions centers, urban expeditions and walking trails, restaurants, hotels, all have the potential to provide a Geolocated audio service for its users or customers.

5. CONCLUSIONS GeoAudio could be an interesting Value delivery channel to users (visitors) and public or private bodies in charge of the administration of tourist sites. The system is able to provide relevance and recognition to the site, by providing an easy assimilation context of information to the user. It is a system that is non-intrusive and fun to use, while providing information od recognized relevance.

In the case of GeoTourism, the setting in which it takes place (along outdoor walking trails), plus the innate need for interpretative facilities in field (either human or static) to extract the maximum knowledge from the field trip, GeoAudio may assume a particular relevance. The intuition is that the system may provide an effective on-site learning platform for people of different ages, interests and backgrounds, by providing an augmented interaction with reality.

It is known that the Value of a site is the measure of the experience it offers its Visitors. Geotourist sites have often invested in multiple approaches to improve educational effectiveness and teaching in natural context. The provision of geolocated information opens a new paradigm of interaction with the physical environment and may give a new dimension to geotourism.

References AGA - Associação Geoparque Arouca (2008) – Plano Estratégico 2008-2013.

Benabdallah S. & Soltane K. (1996) The importance of multimedia and geographical information system technologies in the tourism industry. European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, ERCIM. Chen R (2007) Significance and variety of Geographic Information System (GIS) applications in retail, hospitality, tourism and consumer services. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 14(4): 247-248.

Dowling, R. (2009). Geotourism's contribution to Local and Regional Development. In: Neto de Carvalho, C. and Rodrigues, J. (Eds.), Geotourism & Local Development, Idanha-a-Nova, 15-37.

Dowling, R. K. (2008). The Future of Geotourism. presented at the 3rd International UNESCO Conference of Geoparks, Osnabrueck, Germany, 22-26 June.

Haines-Young R, Bunce R, Parr T (1994) Countryside information system: an information system for environmental policy development and appraisal. Geographical Systems, 1(4): 329-345.

Hose, T. A. (2000). European “Geotourism” – geological interpretation and geoconservation promotion for tourists. In: Geological Heritage: its conservation and management (Coord. D. Barettino, W. A. p. Wimbledon E. Gallego), Madrid, 127 – 146.http://www.naturtejo.com/conteudos/pt/images/livros/desenvolvimento.pdf http://www.geoparquearouca.com/download.php?ficheiro=Li9kb2N1bWVudG9zL2RvY3VtZW50b3NfZGlzcG9ua XZlaXMvQUdBIC0gUGxhbm8gRXN0cmF06WdpY28gMjAwOC0yMDEzXzE3ZGMzNDM0ZGFlYzllYm M2YzlhM2U2Yjk5Y2EyMDY2LnBkZg==- URL available at 15/05/2011, at 23:06

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