A few years ago, a team of young Slovenian developers set out on a quest to help make museums and heritage sites more appealing, especially to younger generations. And how else to engage the overstimulated smartphone crowd if not through the very same device, which, as it turns out, can offer so much more to the tourism industry than just selfies?
Through audio, visual, and augmented reality elements, Nexto creates a memorable immersive experience of the past, whereby ruins can be reconstructed, layers of a painting uncovered, and historical characters brought to life (only good guys, hopefully). Visitors can also compete in solving thematic puzzles, riddles, and other mini-games, and thereby win neat virtual rewards. The app is integrated with most popular social media platforms, so one can impress one’s friends with the acquired loot through geeky photo filters.
Nexto is already present on many locations across Europe and was awarded first prize in the category sustainable tourism solutions by Booking.com andwas recognised as a best practice in digitalization by the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019.
Oh, and one more thing. Apart from the self-evident hygienic advantage of using your own smartphone as a guide, the app offers another nifty feature to the post-pandemic visitor: it reminds you to maintain a healthy distance from someone if you are standing too close together.
