Tourism + Tech InitiativeOne of our goals is to cultivate and propel collaborations between the tourism and tech sectors to spark new innovations, offerings, and product delivery - an endeavor that is more important now than ever for tourism businesses and organizations to be competitive and resilient.
C3TechIn February 2022, our parent organization Hackforge launched C3Tech in collaboration with The City of Windsor Bicycle Committee, the County Wide Active Transportation System (CWATS), and local technology consulting firm Parallel 42 Systems. The Tourism Innovation Lab is excited to support and collaborate on this initiative that will create digital tools to enhance cycle tourism development, planning and navigation in our home region of Windsor Essex.
Short for “City-County Cycling Technology,” C3Tech aims to leverage open source software to create digital tools that will make navigating Windsor and Essex County by bike safer, easier, and more fulfilling. The starting points for these tools are currently available at WindsorEssexCycling.ca, and are based on CyclOSM and BRouter.
Crowd-Sourced Ideas In addition to open source software, C3Tech is utilizing the knowledge and expertise of the Windsor and Essex County cycling community to build a product that residents and visitors will want to use. Through an online survey and a virtual town hall meeting, C3Tech has consulted with cyclists of various ages and experience levels to get a few ideas on potential app features, including: ● A-to-B navigation indicating the safety level of various routes ● Pleasure-ride routes based on estimated time to accomplish ● Suggested routes between local businesses (e.g. brewery/winery routes) ● All city and county trails represented on a single map ● Bike lane/path issue reporting to municipalities and publication for other cyclists Development Events Starting May 1, 2022, Hackforge is hosting a month-long hackathon, during which individuals and teams will develop proof-of-concept versions of their ideas. Experts in various disciplines will be available to assist and advise teams as they complete their projects. Hackathon Registration is now open! Complete this form to express your interest in participating! There will be other community- and technology-building events offered throughout the year as well, including: ● Workshops on contributing to OpenStreetMap ● Community rides to test the tools being developed ● Group discussions on writing and managing C3Tech code ● Data management and analysis workshops Register for the monthly C3Tech newsletter to receive information on events and project updates. Business Benefits To help ensure the region is represented as accurately as possible, C3Tech is collecting information from local businesses for inclusion on OpenStreetMaps. Details being gathered include not only the business name and address, but also specifics of their offerings - for example, cuisine type for a restaurant, and the sale of new or used goods for a retail shop. This work will improve not only the WindsorEssexCycling maps, but all other map services based on OSM - services like Facebook and Foursquare.
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Learn more about the Tourism Innovation Lab
- Home Base -
Tourism Innovation Lab
c/o University of Windsor - EPICentre
2455 Wyandotte St W, Windsor, ON, Canada N9B 3B3
info@tourisminnovation.ca
1-844-455-0325 toll-free / 416-712-8819
We respectfully acknowledge that our home base at the University of Windsor sits on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, which is comprised of the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomi Peoples. We will honour that by collaborating with Indigenous-led organizations and businesses to support the advancement of Indigenous tourism in the region and across Canada.