DAPITAN CITY—Tourists bound for Dapitan City on Zamboanga del Norte province can now use their mobile phones as guide to historical, cultural, heritage and tourism sites in the area with the recent launch of digital tourism here by Smart Communications Inc. and Cebu-based InnoPub Media.
“We are very happy and thankful to Smart Communications and Inno Pub Media for including Dapitan City, the Shrine City of the Philippine, in this noble undertaking. This will help the city move to the next promotions and marketing level. It will also help us enhance the experience of our guests and help tourists make the most out of their visit,” Dapitan Mayor Rosalina Jalosjos said.
One of Dapitan’s attraction sites is the Puerto de Disembarco, the beachfront where Filipino hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal disembarked on July 17, 1892 on board SS Cebu, the vessel that ferried him to his four-year exile in this historic city. The site features a diorama in marble depicting the disembarkation.
Through the Digital Tourism project, graphic information about where Rizal stayed and admirable accomplishments he achieved while in exile in Dapitan can now be made more widely available on mobile devices
The information package includes inviting attractions in Dapitan which tourists can visit—the Rizal Shrine that gave Dapitan its “Shrine City of the Philippines” monicker, the public plaza Rizal beautified, the relief map of Mindanao he built to help instruct pupils, the huge Gloria Fantasyland amusement park, and world renown Dakak Park Beach Resort.
Dapitan City Vice Mayor Ruben Cad said Digital Tourism inspired the city to aspire for becoming a tourism Mecca in Mindanao. The interactive tourism markers installed on key tourism sites contain a quick response or QR code and NFC (near-field communications) tags that when scanned or tapped trigger the download of tourism and historical information about a site or structure.
InnoPub Media co-founder Max Limpag noted that aside from family and friends, “the mobile phone is our most important travel companion. It is our map, camera, messaging device and tourism guide. With Digital Tourism, we make important tourism and historical information more widely available to tourists through these mobile devices.”
The Digital Tourism app likewise lists places to stay when in Dapitan. It has a virtual concierge feature that will allow tourists to get in direct contact with the City Tourism Officer for questions and requests for assistance.
The Dapitan guide app is offline-capable. Once installed, users can use it anywhere even in places without Internet connection.
