Michigan is joining the QR craze as the state’s Department of Transportation introduced the codes to their latest edition of maps. A smart phone application is also in development and is scheduled to be released in spring of this year. Dawn Garner, media services manager for the Department, has hopes that the codes and their associated application will encourage tourism to the state.
While the physical maps already offer a sleuth of information, the codes are being used to link to interactive counterparts. The online maps will be able to offer area specific information, allowing tourists to look up events or find shopping in that area.
“We’re experimenting with how the codes will look and the size of them,” says Garner. The Department of Transportation is teaming with Travel Michigan, the state’s official travel agency, to develop the codes. Garner estimates that 10 to 15 small codes will be used for each map. The aim is to design the codes to be unobstructive.
Director of the Department of Transportation, Kirk Steudle, hails the codes as a way to re-invent the map. Traditional maps will continue to be printed, but more interactive measures will be made in the future to increase user experience.
“Tourists are expecting greater things from the industry to help them travel easier,” says Dave Lorenz, managing director at Travel Michigan. “Michigan will be among the first to use the codes so extensively.”
Other states have made use of the codes and they have proven to be a valuable tool in connecting with tourists.
