Check Barcelona. A New App Will Improve Visitor-flow Management at Different Tourist Sites

Turisme de Barcelona and the Barcelona City Council, in partnership with the technology provider EureCat, recently presented a new app, called Check Barcelona, that aims to prevent congestion at different tourist sites and offer alternatives for visitors.

Release time : 2021-05-14 17:54:37

source : Turisme de Barcelona

Turisme de Barcelona and the Barcelona City Council, in partnership with the technology provider EureCat, recently presented a new app, called Check Barcelona, that aims to prevent congestion at different tourist sites and offer alternatives for visitors.

It consists of a guide to the city and its environs, with information in real time about how busy the different sites - including public spaces, beaches, car parks and other places of interest - are, and their availability.

In a Covid-19 setting, in which visitors have become increasingly aware of safety measures, Check Barcelona allows people to manage their visits at times when attractions are less busy, thus enabling them to increase safety and improve the visitor experience at the same time.

The aim of this new, free app is to provide visitors with a tool that will allow them to check, in real time, how busy different sites are and to manage their booking following the safety protocols and established visitor numbers that are in place. This means that by optimising the visit we increase the degree of customer satisfaction and improve the running of tourist sites and attractions that usually have high visitor numbers. Updated information about the safety protocols, mobility and other aspects also contributes to the safety of the visit.

This is the first app available in Europe that includes different repositories to manage visitor flows. The tool has been created in collaboration with Tech City, the Fundació Mobile and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, and designed to enhance the quality of the visitor offer and experience.

The optimisation of the visit is a challenge that promotional organisations must manage by offering visitors information, products and services that will save time and money while contributing to the sustainability of the visit.

Check Barcelona is compatible with all mobile and desktop platforms and shows all available sites and attractions with

information about current visitor numbers. It allows you to refine your search and choose the nearest ones that best suit your interests. It gives you the opportunity to book your visit, find out information about transport, access to parking and the safety protocols in place at each site or attraction.

To obtain information in real time, the app uses API integration with different sources of information, also in real time. You’ll find information about beach occupancy through the on-site cameras that will be analysed to provide occupancy indicators. The app is integrated with the Turisme de Barcelona ticket sales platform and allows you to check on how busy some 280 sites and attractions are, make bookings and buy tickets immediately without having to queue.

Eduard Torres, CEO of the Turisme de Barcelona Executive Committee, considers that “the new app ties in with Turisme de Barcelona’s strategy to apply the ‘smart tourist destination’ concept d on the digitisation and development of smart cities, where technology plays a decisive role and tourist destinations have to take the necessary steps to make technology part of the entire visitor cycle: that is, before, during and after their trip.

In this way the visitor experience will be enriched and the destination will be able to interact with them.” He went on to say that “with the aid of technologies, we’ll be able to offer safer visits, provide visitors with more information and gain a better insight into changing behaviour regarding demand in order to strengthen sustainability.

The councillor for Tourism and Creative Industries, Xavier Marcé, who is vice-president of Turisme de Barcelona, considers that “foresight will be decisive in the future management of our visitors. Not just in the administration of sites and destinations, but in creating trends and showcasing bold initiatives. This is a crucial stepping stone to consolidating new

enterprises.”

The director of the consortium, Marian Muro, is convinced that “there is a great opportunity before us to gain in competitiveness and efficiency” and considers that, in the post-Covid future, “we need to promote the added values of stays.” This tool, she says, “is the response to visitor empowerment through technology and represents a paradigm shift in tourism. We need to provide mobility and knowledge solutions to offer distinctive, bespoke experiences that will benefit a more sustainable tourism.”

The app is also integrated with the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB), which also provides information about the Barcelona metropolitan transport network, run by TMB, and municipal amenities, run by BSM, including the nearest means of transport, car parks and their current occupancy.

The app will gradually include different sites and amenities in the city and Destination with a heat map tracker showing visitor numbers in the main thoroughfares and smart tips showing the occupancy of the city and sites on historic data and complementary communication via other audiovisual channels.

https://www.checkbarcelona.com/