The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been operating the Seoul tourism website (http://www.visitseoul.net) since 2001 in five languages (including Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese) to provide indispensable information on tourism in Seoul and Seoul tours. In line with the ever rising number of Smartphone users, the City Government launched a smartphone application (i Tour Seoul) in December 2009, and expanded the service into a mobile web (http://m.visitseoul.net) in April 2010, positioning it as an essential service for tourists in the Korean capital.
With the latest expansion of the service with the tablet PC app (i Tour Seoul), users will now be able to freely access a comprehensive range of information on tours in the City, whatever the type of IT device they use, including ordinary PCs, smartphones, and tablet PCs.
With the newly introduced tablet PC app, users will now be able to check out information on tourist hotspots, famous restaurants and accommodation on a bigger screen in a more graphic format. The service enables users to view vivid images of major tourist attractions through high resolution photos and footage of sites filmed at 720 degree angles in advance, which will heighten their interest in visiting Seoul. Through Seoul maps provided in five different languages, including key information on 14,000 items, users will now be able to instantly access information compiled according to various search categories, including famous restaurants and accommodation. The service also provides detailed geographical information about the user’s current position and surrounding area, and a function that enables users to conveniently locate their desired destination.
In addition, the service includes a tour scheduling function that allows users to fix in advance their schedules, calculate their expenses by the day, and venue according to current exchange rates, as well as allowing them to share tourism information compiled with friends and family. As such, the service will enable users to plan and prepare their tours conveniently from the outset.
The newly launched tablet PC app has been developed based on the iOS (iPad) environment, which holds the No.1 global market share. The City Government plans to develop and introduce an app for the android operating system by August 2012.
*Government press release (March 06)