Geotour timeline

2024

May 01

Geotour conceptualized: The idea for a platform dedicated to cultural and environmental heritage, along with the promotion of sustainable tourism practices, had been brewing for some time. In May 2024, without a concrete plan but a clear vision, the decision was made to bring this concept to life. The goal is to create a portal that celebrates heritage and champions businesses that prioritize authenticity and environmental responsibility over mass tourism. Of course, things may change in the future.

Structure and Purpose Defined

May 15

Geotour’s foundation laid: The initial development phase focused on establishing the website’s core functionalities. This involved determining the types of content to be featured, creating a categorization system for easy navigation, and designing an aesthetically pleasing layout for content display. Simultaneously, crucial decisions were made regarding the platform’s goals and policies. This included crafting a comprehensive privacy statement, ensuring user data protection, and developing compelling copywriting that accurately conveyed Geotour’s mission and values.

Listings and Spatial Integration

May 31

Listings Take Shape: The portal’s primary content format, the “listing,” was implemented. Each listing is meticulously categorized based on its typology (accommodation, archaeological site, etc.) and is searchable through a faceted system, allowing users to filter results using various criteria. Spatial data integration was a key feature, with each listing geolocated for map-based visualization and navigation. The platform utilizes the WordPress REST API to expose location data in GeoJSON format, enabling seamless export to GIS or web mapping applications.

Immersive Enhancements

Geotour virtual tour, Vai palm forest and beach

Jun 10

Virtual Navigation Implemented: With the continuous expansion of listings, Geotour has introduced a new feature to enhance user engagement. Many listings now feature interactive spherical panorama photos, enabling immersive virtual tour. Beyond enriching the visual experience, this functionality offers an alternative navigation method, allowing users to explore locations virtually and seamlessly discover related content within the platform.

Greek Translation in Progress

Jun 20

Greek Translation Underway: While English remains the primary language, Geotour has started translating the platform into Greek. This ongoing effort aims to make the platform more accessible to Greek-speaking users, expand its reach, and ensure that its valuable content and features are available to a wider audience. However, the Greek translation is currently paused as the production of new material in English makes it challenging to keep the translations in sync.

Informative Enhancements

Jul 01

Informative Enhancements Integrated: Alongside the ongoing development of listings and virtual tours, Geotour has implemented several informative enhancements to further benefit users. To aid in trip planning, a weather forecast feature powered by the OpenMeteo API has been integrated into most listings, providing 3-day forecasts. Moreover, to enrich the cultural and historical context of many listings, information from the SearchCulture repository has been seamlessly incorporated into the platform. Additionally, Google Maps reviews are now integrated into relevant listings, providing valuable insights from other travelers. To assist users in planning their itineraries, listings related to events or festivals display relevant dates on a calendar, highlighting temporal connections between different listings.

Events intergration and Display

Aug 05

Festival Integration and Display: Geotour has expanded its functionalities to incorporate festivals that celebrate culture, local products, sustainability, and the preservation of historical memory. Users can now access information about these festivals, which are displayed in multiple formats, including a calendar view for easy date-based browsing, a list format for quick overviews, and a map view for visualizing festival locations and their proximity to other points of interest.

Cretan Villages Integrated

Aug 10

Cretan Villages Integrated: Geotour has expanded its scope to include villages throughout Crete. This started with villages that host festivals and events that celebrate culture, local products, sustainability, and the preservation of historical memory but it soon expanded to include more and more. This also led to the hunting for information on the Cultural Associations of these villages which is used to make a catalog of contact details of these groups. This catalog can be seen here https://www.geotour.gr/cultural-associations-contacts/.

People

Sep 15

Start adding prominent figures with the very places in Crete that shaped their lives and legacies by creating informative ‘bio’ pages dedicated to individuals deeply intertwined with the island – from heroes like Michalis Korakas, to celebrated authors like Nikos Kazantzakis. Users can explore the island through the lens of these individuals, discovering the places that inspired their achievements and contributions to Cretan history and culture.

Widget development

Nov 01

For more info about the Web widget that aids the dissemination of information check the Geotour Crete Share, WordPress plugin info page

Maps and journey steps

Dec 01

Maps is adding a new dimension for exploring Crete in Geotour! The maps helps you discover points of interest across the island. Also, an implementation of simple linear guided tours on each map can take you on curated journeys through different themes and regions of Crete.

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Geotour website by Nikolakakis Manolis is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0