Visa and SA Tourism are challenging developers in sub-Saharan Africa to build the best travel app and stimulate tourism in the region through the newly launched Africa App Quest initiative.
According to SA Tourism, a third of all travellers have a travel-related app on their smartphones, and Google estimates the number of mobile users researching travel on their mobile devices will grow by 50% by the end of 2012.
Head of cross-border marketing for Visa sub-Saharan Africa, Claire Olverman, says: “There are hundreds of international travel apps out there, but we think this is a great opportunity to create home-grown apps that really capture the feel of Africa and enhance the tourist experience of the continent.”
“Entries can include anything from online safari guides and urban directories, to game spotting and recording apps, online booking and shopping tools, or apps interpreting local culture.”
SA Tourism's William Price says: “Technology is critically important to the success of the tourism sector, and this is a great opportunity for local developers to write apps that could potentially reach a massive global market.”
The Africa App Quest will open for submissions on 1 January 2013, via the E-Tourism Frontiers Web site (prize details will only be available when the competition page goes live). The winner will be announced at the E-Tourism Africa Summit in September next year.
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