Smart beacons message passersby's phones in this Spanish town

It’s like tapping tourists on the shoulder and giving them useful info that they weren’t aware they needed

Alcalá de Henares, located east of Madrid, is a lively and historic university town, and a popular tourist destination. Its authorities are now boasting a new innovative and proactive method of letting visitors know “what’s up” on the territory – smart electronic beacons integrated into street furniture will message notifications to passersby.

In order to be able to receive the phone notifications, visitors will need to download the city’s tourist app and allow messages. Every time they approach an interpretive totem of a museum or monument, a pedestrian directional sign or an interpretive board, they will obtain information about the object, routes or general data, depending on the place where they are.

Alerts available both in Spanish and English

Alcalá de Henares has also been equipped with smart billboards with beacons that can send notifications about news, concerts or events that are taking place in the city. For example, during Holy Week, users received an alert with the activities scheduled for those days.

The information in the Alcalá tourist application is offered in Spanish and English, written, in audio and in an easy reading mode, depending on the configuration of the mobile phone. Utmost accessibility has been considered in the design of the tool.

The app (Alcalá de Henares – Turismo) is available in the App Store and Google Play. It can be downloaded through the QR codes placed on the smart furniture in the city and the links of the totem poles of monuments or interpretation tables.

A big draw to the university town is the birth house of famed Renaissance writer – Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote. His life is also celebrated with two festivals taking place in April and October.