Visitors and locals will now be able to access better information about the Eastland region on their iPad and iPhone with the launch of a new app called The Official App - Out East, launched by Tourism Eastland.

The uptake of people using mobile devices such as iPhone, iPad, smart phones and tablets to access the internet is growing quickly, with 50% of global web users using their mobile device as either their primary or exclusive means of going online.

”With the upsurge in mobile internet browsing we knew we had to do something in the mobile environment to better promote our region to potential visitors,” says Kerry Taggard, marketing manager for Tourism Eastland. “That statistic alone is phenomenal, what's even more compelling is that 80% of mobile internet browsing is spent in Apps.”

Much of the Eastland region has limited access to mobile phone coverage and WIFI. The Official App – Out East works offline and uses satellite technology to show the user their location.

“This is ground breaking technology and means that with the launch of The Official App - Out East the Eastland region is the only region in New Zealand with a 100% offline regional guide.

“The fact that our App works 100% offline means that anyone travelling Out East can now find the products, services and things to see and do when they need them, wherever they are in our large region with limited connectivity,” says Taggard. “This is obviously a great benefit to visitors, but it is also a benefit to local businesses that feature on our app, as it means visitors can find them at the time when they are making their purchasing decisions”.

Visitors to gisbornenz.com using an iPad or iPhone are automatically given instructions on how to download the app.

“In the past year 90% of the people who visited our website on a mobile device were using either an iPad or iPhone," Taggard says.

“Even though Android users only made up 10% of the mobile visitors to our website, we know that will increase quickly and so are already working on an Android version to be launched later this year."

Tourism Eastland was supported in the building of the app by their main sponsor, Gisborne District Council, with financial and administrative support also received from Opotiki and Wairoa District Councils, and the Heart of Gisborne.

“This was a large project for our organisation and we appreciate the support of our partners, not just from a financial point of view, but also the administrative support of the Opotiki and Wairoa i-SITEs who helped to input all the local information for their districts”, says Stuart Geddes, president Tourism Eastland.