Tourist Applications Made Easier Using Near Field Communication

Near field communication (NFC) is a new wireless connectivity technology that enables short-range communication between electronic devices. The operation of NFC is intuitive, making it easy for consumers to use. With built-in security, it has great potential for payment and financial applications. However, NFC is a relatively new technology and the related industries are still brainstorming for extensive applications to make it more marketable. Hence, the aim of our research is to design and build a working prototype for tourists using NFC and smart card. Undoubtedly, photo-taking is an integral part of every tourist’s holiday. However, it is noticed that pictures alone are often incomplete. People hardly remember the details of the places they have visited and find it a hassle to keep records of the attractions. Hence, it is more meaningful if digital photos have short descriptions attached with little effort. Another observation is that although it is often cheaper for tourists to purchase tour packages, it is a hassle to keep track of several tickets. Such inconvenience can be reduced with a single device that is able to store tickets electronically. With the above observation in mind, we propose an NFC system (HolidayPaL) that would benefit tourists so that they have more memorable holidays. Firstly, NFC tags will be placed at each attraction, storing relevant snippets of site descriptions. The tourists can then use their NFC-enabled cameras to input the descriptions, which will then be attached to relevant photos. Personal comments can be added later as well. Tourists can subsequently view the photos and captions using some photo-album software. These captions give tourists better understanding and more vivid memory of the heritage and culture of the places visited. Another feature of the proposed application is to use NFC devices to store electronic tickets. Tourists can purchase a package over the counter and transfer it to their handheld devices via NFC. Subsequently, they can just tap their NFC devices at the entrance of each attraction to gain admission. The proposed NFC application will benefit three groups of people: individual tourists, the tourism industry, and digital camera manufacturers.