Years ago, the Punta Gorda Historic Mural Society used QR Codes to enable folks to read about the murals the Society was installing around town.
“It would take you to the local page on our website, but you’d have to read it in the sun, which is a little hard to do,” notes Mural Society President Kelly Gaylord.
So she convinced the Charlotte County Tourist Development Council to subscribe for a mobile app called Otocast because it contains an audio feature that obviates the need to read text in the sun.
But there’s another benefit that Gaylord likes just as much.
“We only offer guided tours when we can handle it, which is in February and March, when it’s cooler,” Gaylord observed. “So that leaves ten other months when people don’t have that option. So this allows them to do their own guided tour, and it can actually speak to them so they don’t have to read something in the sun.”
The app is also available to the growing body of cultural and heritage tourists who research potential destinations online months, even years in advance.
But it was actually a little friendly competition that induced the Tourist Development Council to get Otocast.
“Sarasota and Fort Myers adopted it, so when I presented that to our tourism bureau, they said, ‘Hey, Charlotte County’s got to be in there. They’re going to pass right through Charlotte County using this app, so we need to be on it.’”
All 31 of Punta Gorda’s murals can be found on Otocast, along with a growing number of the town’s historical markers.
MORE INFORMATION:
- Otocast works through geo-location mapping. Users don’t need to know anything about an artwork, historic building or historical marker they happen upon. There’s no need to look for a plaque or QR Code. Simply tap on the app and the guide automatically comes up, providing access to an array of information including historic photos.
- Otocast currently hosts guides containing more than 4,500 points of interest in more than 200 cities and 90+ countries.
- The Sarasota Guide contains 96 artistic points of interest.
- The Fort Myers Guide contains 132 artistic and historic points of interest, including the murals at the river basin and the Buck’s Backyard mural at McCollum Hall.
- You can visit Otocast online at app.otocast.com.
To read more stories about the arts in Southwest Florida visit Tom Hall's website: SWFL Art in the News.
