Fraser Campbell and Uan Spijkerbosch presenting Queenstown’s new live-feed touch screen information service, LiveTouch.

Press Release from HeadQuarters Network Design and Consultancy
14 June 2011

Queenstown goes interactive with LiveTouch

A brand new cutting-edge information guide that encompasses ‘Queenstown’ within an online interactive one-stop information shop was launched in the resort today (June 14).

Dozens of local operators have already jumped on board with the innovative information and sales tool, called LiveTouch.

LiveTouch enables users to navigate on-screen Queenstown’s adventure operators, accommodators, restaurants and bars, and view mountain updates, flight times and live Queenstown cams.

People can access the live-feed system using free touch screen or Internet Kiosks located in high profile locations around downtown Queenstown, or access the service using laptops or smart phones on HQWiFi Hotspots and Queenstown.com.

The system has been developed by Queenstown-based technology company HeadQuarters, where innovators Uan Spijkerbosch and Fraser Campbell have been trialling the system with 30 operators and 10 sites for the past year to great success.

“LiveTouch is an all-encompassing comprehensive ‘live’ service tool that offers a complete overview of Queenstown,” said Mr Spijkerbosch.

“The fantastic thing about LiveTouch is that it’s a ‘magnet’ for people who want to touch and play for free, but as an extended service visitors and locals can access it using their smart phones to check out live-feed weather forecasts, maps, on-mountain web cams, activity prices, event listings and demo videos.

“It’s also an easy-use sales tool for front of house staff and concierges to help close the sale.”

LiveTouch has already been introduced in a simpler format for Department of Conservation sites where the very first four systems were installed at Queenstown’s Regional Visitor Centre on Shotover Street. Following its huge success with the centre’s visitors HQ was commissioned to install others.

Currently LiveTouch can be found in 20 Internet Kiosks in Queenstown, 10 touch screen kiosks, 60 accommodators and 90 Wifi hotspots. These include GoldRidge Resort, Reavers Lodge, Alpine Backpackers, Absolute Backpackers, Q Box, Creeksyde Top 10 Holiday Park Queenstown and Queenstown Events Centre.

Ziptrek Ecotours Director Trent Yeo, whose company has been one of those trialling the service, spoke highly of his experience using LiveTouch.

“As a tourist, to use this service is just mind-blowing, and as a tourism Mecca Queenstown and New Zealand needs to be the essence of ‘new age’ tourism via Wifi, QR codes and LiveTouch.”

A user of Livetouch or Queenstown.com has access to a comprehensive and detailed summary of the below:

• Queenstown attractions, (broken down into snow, water, air, land activities)
• Queenstown accommodators
• Queenstown pubs and clubs
• Queenstown restaurants
• Local information
• Queenstown web cams – street cams and internal biz/restaurant/bar cams
• Queenstown Events
• Queenstown Street maps
• Queenstown Flight Schedules
• Queenstown HQWifi Hotspots
• Local detailed 4-day weather forecast
• Snow reports (all mountain up to the minute summaries, incl road closures and weather warnings).

For more information please visit www.queenstownhq.co.nz.

ENDS

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