Ella Santos, Head of Visitor Experiences, Puke Ariki, presents at NDF23.

Abstract:

The inspiration of this VR Prototype experience is Puke Ariki’s New Plymouth Guided Historical Walk--a tour that brings some of the stories of New Plymouth to life through a walking tour through landmarks, places and moments from the past. The idea for an enhanced digital tour uses Virtual Reality that would immerse visitors to key locations from the existing Historical Walk, present narratives from both Māori and settler perspectives an accessible all-weather option and a showcase pictorial collections from Puke Ariki to reinforce the stories. The output that we would like to share is proof of concept for testing and gathering of user feedback to help shape the full experience. The production of the prototype has been made possible through the grant from Venture Taranaki and MBIE as a way of stimulating local stories and tourism post covid.