Conwy County Council and Llandudno Town Council have launched a new incentive in Llandudno to boost tourism. Working together the companies have fitted barcode labels on plaques and signs around the town which can be read by a tourist’s smartphone.
The project is a way for the councils to promote the history of the town and is the brainchild of two Conway Camera Club members. One of them, Rhodri Clarke, said:
“The project provides a platform for local history societies and other non-commercial bodies to take historical information in easily digestible chunks, to a new audience via QR barcodes,
“Hopefully it will reach out to young people who don’t normally buy or read books on local history, and inspire greater awareness and interest in their local environment.”
Green plaques have been dotted around the resort, with each featuring a unique barcode which can be read by a smartphone. When the barcode is scanned a history of the location is regaled on the user’s phone.
John Lawson-Reay was the man who identified the suitable barcode label sites, he works for Llandudno Civic Society, he said:
“There are now about 30 history points in Llandudno and they’re being added all the time. They’re in places like Happy Valley, on the pier, at the sites of former theatres and cinemas, churches, and the Cottage Loaf pub, so there’s a wide spread of the history of the town to be accessed.
“Because it’s a Victorian resort people tend to think that Llandudno doesn’t have that much history, but there is so much heritage that everyone should be aware of, and this project is a great way of bringing it to the fore,”