AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Travel Downtown Belize City Walking Tour Mobile Application

In an effort to invest in the improvement of the core competencies of Downtown Belize City (its business activities, historic value, cultural heritage and community) and to encourage socio-economic integration, the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation and Taiwan ICDF, under the Belize City House of Culture and Downtown Rejuvenation Project, a project funded by Taiwan ICDF and the Government of Belize, today, signed a transfer document for a Downtown Belize City Walking Tour Mobile Application and the licensed documentary film named "Belize City House of Culture and Downtown Rejuvenation Project" in Belize City.

The Downtown Rejuvenation Project had included as one of its objectives under its soft components, the creation of an Online Digital Walking Tour Map Mobile Application (App) for downtown Belize City (Regents and Albert Streets), the main hub of its new Ecomuseum. The key feature of the App is to highlight the various historical sites along the two historic streets, and utilizing an integrated google map real time tracker, the visitor would be able to do a virtual tour or use the App to do a self-guided tour of the Ecomuseum. The development of the source code and design of the App was provided by Taiwan ICDF's technical support team. Today, the transfer document for the source code of the App was signed by Ambassador Timothy T.Y. Hsiang, Secretary General of Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund and the CEO of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Yashin Dujon, witnessed by H.E. Remus Li-Kuo Chen, Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Belize.

The Belize City House of Culture and Downtown Rejuvenation Project is being implemented by Taiwan ICDF and the Government of Belize. The objectives of the initiative are to preserve and manage the built Cultural Heritage and address the degeneration of Downtown Belize City; establish policies to preserve the country's built Urban Heritage; promote awareness and appreciation of our built heritage and relics currently existent in Belize City through community storytelling and use of heritage buildings; and encourage community participation and development in the regeneration of Downtown Belize City and its public spaces.

The Belize City House of Culture and Downtown Rejuvenation Project was launched in February of 2014 and the project is scheduled to be completed on October 9th, 2020.

Congratulations to Albert Paul Avila in creating a Downtown Interactive Walking Tour Map App. for Belize City! This would be great in each major town!

THE DOWNTOWN ECOMUSEUM WEB SITE AND THE DOWNTOWN INTERACTIVE WALKING TOUR MAP APP

One of the last two projects I have been working on in my current contract with the Dowrtown Rejuvenation Project which ends on October 9th, 2020, is to create our Ecomuseum Website and to develop a Downtown Interactive Walking Tour Map App. This App will allow a visitor to take their own tour of downtown using the Google location finder feature. I believe it is the only one of its kind in the world. It is similar to how your GPS feature works in your car, but with this one you will be able to use your phone and it will tell you where you are in relation to the historic sites downtown. Plus it will provide information about the sites. The App is not completed as yet, but will be in a couple of weeks. Once we place it in the App Store the link will be placed here in case you want to download and do your own tour. To use the location finder feature you will need a Wi-Fi connection though.

Albert Paul Avila

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Enhancing and Preserving Downtown Belize City

Belize City, located at the Belize River estuary, is the largest city in Belize. It used to be the capital city of Belize and also the hub of economic, political, and cultural development. However, due to severe hurricanes, the Government of Belize decided to move the capital to Belmopan in 1970. Following the removal of the administration function, the downtown area of Belize City gradually suffered from economic stagnation and urban depression. To rejuvenate Downtown Belize City the project will do so by means of preserving and revitalizing the colonial-style public architecture and private homes. Downtown Belize City is thus transformed by creating cultural amenities for community participation and enhancing the tourist-friendly atmosphere. As such, the Government of Belize, in conjunction with the National Taiwan University Building and Planning Research Foundation, through collaboration with the International Cooperation and Development Fund (Taiwan ICDF), has utilized the concept of an Eco-museum to work towards the goal of rejuvenating Downtown Belize City.




More Information:
http://belizecityecomuseum.com/

CALLING TESTERS FOR THE DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR MAP APP

ANDROID LINK FOR THE DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR MAP
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i0KPlEum5lZmcQtiIsylIO3ad7RSjvu5/view
IPHONE LINK FOR THE DOWNTOWN WALKING TOUR MAP
https://i.diawi.com/fmr8i9

Like most apps it will won't be perfect, but you won't know until you get the feedback from people so it is in Beta right now. The app is not in the Apple and Google Store yet so the app is not accessible as yet in those locations.

People who have been trying to use it have told me it is requesting a link. When I check with the developers they are telling me it is because they still need to put it in the apps store as of right now you can only use it if we get your cell number Unique ID #. I think it might be in the App Store by next week.

The location feature will not be usable unless you are actually walking long Albert and Regents Streets.

Albert Paul Avila

This is the QR code for IPhone users. Scan to get access to app.



Here is the QR Code for Android



After months of work on our Ecomuseum's Website and the Self-Guided Walking Interactive Tour App Map, we are pleased to announce that both are up and running. The Walking Tour App is an Interactive Tour App that works with either your IOS or Android phones. It will allow the user to identify the various historic sites in downtown (Albert and Regents Streets). If the users have access to the internet on their phones while in downtown, they will be able to utilize the directional/tracking feature of the App. The directional/tracking feature will allow the user to choose which historic site they want to visit. It will show where they are located in relation to that site in real time. The user should be able to follow the blue directional/tracking line to the selected site. The App will also provide a short interpretation about each site. After learning about any historic site, the user will be able to choose the next historic site and proceed to that site with the help of the direction/tracking feature. With the assistance of our App anyone will be able to conduct their own self-guided tour.

This App was not created to eliminate the tour guides, because there is nothing better than taking a tour with a knowledgeable and experienced tour guide. However, this App was created to supplement our experiential tourism experience in downtown, by providing hundreds of visitors into downtown, who may prefer to do their own walking-tour, the ability to do that if they so desire.

The App is accessible with the attached QR Codes. The first OR code is for the IOS and second is for the Android.

The Ecomuseum and Self-Guiding Walking Tour App was created for the Downtown Rejuvenation Project by Sai Info-Tech.

ECOMUSEUM WEB SITE LINK

http://belizecityecomuseum.com/

We at the Downtown Rejuvenation Project have been working hard to put the final touches on our Self-guided Interactive Walking Tour App Map . We had gotten two of our BHNS members Gordon Kirkwood and Eden Cruz to give it a test run for us and we have made some updates based on their recommendstions. We would like to thank them for their valuable input.

Although the App is not perfect, most users will find that it will provide just enough information about our historic sites in Downtown. To help our visitors locate the various historic sites, the app has a real time interactive location finder feature that works with google map. What this feature does is if you do not know where the historic sites are located, it will guide you to the site the way the GPS in your car guides you to your destination.

To use the location finder, your phone will need to have access to the internet. You may locate the free app in the Apple and Android play stores (the two QR codes are provided). The Ecomuseum also has a web site where you will be able to find additional information about our historic Downtown.

I am attaching individual screen shots of the App Map so you could see where the historic site location finder feature is located in the App in the event the instructions in the App are not clear enough.

ECOMUSEUM WEBSITE LINK

http://belizecityecomuseum.com/

We hope you will make use of it. When the schools reopen it will be a good tool to get the students interested in our history.