By MICHELLE HERBISON
A STRING of Wi-Fi hotspots giving visitors an innovative online tourism experience will operate along the Great Ocean Road this summer.
Member for South Barwon Andrew Katos this week announced $40,000 toward the project from State Government’s $350,000 Regional Cooperative Marketing Innovation Fund.
Geelong Otway Tourism business manager Brett Ince said stage one would begin rollout in September by installing Wi-Fi at 10 locations between Queenscliff and the Great Ocean Road.
Users would log in for a limited amount of time to gain access to multimedia information and be able to upload photos to social media, he said.
“Visitors would log into the area and access specific information about the site. It might be the history around the Great Ocean Road or there’s the potential of 90-second video clips they could watch to enhance their experience.”
The Wi-Fi login process would require users to answer questions about their travel patterns including whether they were international or domestic visitors on a short or long break.
Tourism bodies would receive more information about visitors than ever before, allowing the potential to provide visitors with information specific to their needs, Mr Ince said.
“If someone looks at information about food and wine on the Bellarine Peninsula, we can push information to them on their device about food and wine at a specific location.”
Mr Katos said the project reflected dramatic change of consumer behaviour in accessing tourism information.
“The increased use of digital media has meant there is a need to incorporate this activity into marketing campaigns.”
