April 15, 2015
Discover Saint John is thrilled to announce the launch of a new mobile website and App for visitors planning a trip or already in the city.
“Research shows that more and more people are doing their vacation planning on mobile devices, whether it’s a mobile phone or tablet. In some cases they are still choosing their destination and other times they are already in the city looking for options for dining, accommodations or things to do. We wanted to ensure our website offers the best user-experience for the visitor’s preferred device,” says Jillian MacKinnon, Manager of Marketing and Communications for Discover Saint John.
When a visitor visits www.discoversaintjohn.com they will now be directed to the appropriate version of the organization’s website based on the visitor’s device. If they are visiting the website from a PC, they will be directed to the desktop version of the site. From a mobile phone they will be directed to a mobile version of the site with easy-to-use navigation and the most applicable vacation-planning categories front and centre. Tablet users will be asked to choose which version of the site they would like to visit.
Discover Saint John also launched the “Saint John” app in both the Apple App store and the Google Play store for Android users. Visitors to the city can download the free app before they visit which will load the app with events, things to do, accommodations, dining and shopping options. Once the App is download, the visitor will not have to use their cellular data plans to view the most important vacation-planning information. The app will also include maps which will require a Wi-Fi connection or the user’s cellular data option be activated.
“Many of our visitors, primarily from the U.S., are very reluctant to use their mobile phones while in the city to look up information for fear of paying high cellular roaming fees. Having a pre-loaded app on your device with destination information provides some peace of mind,” according to MacKinnon.
Visitors and locals alike can download the free Saint John app by searching for “Saint John” in the Apple App store or Google Play store.