In collaboration with the Ostfriesische Inseln GmbH and the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park Administration, the Nordseeheilbad Borkum GmbH developed a master plan to improve the local experience of our UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borkum serves as a model project here and can now look forward to a further stage of development: telling the island's history in a different way. With the help of AR (augmented reality), various fictional characters report on their current or previous life on Borkum. The Reede district is the first magical place to go online.
"At first glance, there is nothing here that gives us a very unique identity. We would be interchangeable based on photos of the dunes and the beach. What makes us special is the history, the town centre, tourist facilities and other experiences. All of this plays a role in choosing a holiday. We want to make these experiences tangible," says Pia Hosemann, tourism director of Nordseeheilbad Borkum GmbH, describing the model project. The task was to strengthen the identity of the national park and island landscapes and to make them tangible through stories and landmarks in the landscape. Seven landmarks will in future represent the seven "faces" of the island; stories will be told directly on them and in their surroundings along the island's distinctive landscape. These seven faces are nature, bathing culture, whaling, seafaring, military, energy and island settlement. There are a total of 50 places where exciting information is available for Borkum residents and guests. These are marked with so-called pins, which are clearly visible at the respective locations. After scanning the QR code with your mobile phone, fictional characters such as the marine Matthias Nielsen, the national park ranger Lena Petersen or the whaler Heiner Meier tell of their lives on Borkum in the form of AR. "These characters give our history a face. Historical facts become much more emotional and exciting and are easier to remember," explains Hosemann. Guests can find out about these places within the respective landscape area via a mobile phone app or the classic way via overview boards. The first island landscape that can be experienced is the roadstead.
"The project is intended to be a model for the East Frisian Islands through modern design and barrier-free communication on site, online and in accompanying media, creating a holistic, new, season-independent island experience of Borkum as a natural and cultural area as well as a deeper understanding of the UNESCO World Heritage. As an offer outside of the current tourist season, it is intended to increase demand in the off-season periods. The first realization at the mudflat entrance has successfully served as a pilot for the implementation of the remaining six island landscapes and can also serve as a model for the neighboring East Frisian islands. The aim from the beginning was to use the entire island in order to roll out the project from the natural landscape "Mudflats" with the adjacent Reede peninsula to the entire island," says former OFI managing director Göran Sell, who co-initiated the project.
Peter Südbeck, head of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park Administration, is equally happy with Borkum as a project partner: "Borkum, as the largest and most ecologically diverse of the East Frisian Islands, has a pioneering role to play in sustainable tourism and new forms of communication. The project is pursuing a new approach to making the UNESCO World Heritage Site attractive and tangible when visiting the island through appealing design and a personal approach."
The avatars and their stories can be accessed via QR code at the respective experience locations and are available for download in advance.