Member Article

Two North Yorkshire firms team up to develop Tour de France app

Two creative agencies have joined forces to develop T14, an app aimed at helping the region’s businesses capitalise on the Tour de France’s arrival in Yorkshire.

The T14 app will list places to eat, stay, park and visit along the route of this summer’s two Yorkshire stages.

Creators Cath Blakey, of Harrogate-based marketing agency The Fuse, and Chris Baxter, of Catalyst Mobile in Pateley Bridge, said they hoped it would help to prolong the economic benefits of the Tour de France to the region.

“The app has obvious uses for anyone who is visiting the area for the race but everyone is hoping Le Tour will give a longer term boost to tourism in Yorkshire,” said Cath Blakey.

“Far from being an event that’s over in a couple of days its legacy is expected to attract cyclists and visitors in the months and years afterwards, many of whom will want to experience all or part of the routes for themselves, and the app will make it easier for them to find what they need while they’re here.”

The app features off-line route maps with parking, transport and public facilities shown and GPS tracking to help users find the facilities nearest to them.

Places to visit, shop, eat and stay will continue to be updated in the coming months as more businesses get involved.

Businesses will also be able to use it to promote their own Tour de France offers and events. It is available on Iphone and android.

Chris Baxter said: “We’re starting to get lots of enquiries from businesses wanting to be listed and we will be approaching others in the vicinity of the cycling routes in the coming weeks.

“From Easter onwards our marketing strategy will have a much heavier consumer focus as we start to actively promote downloads.

“We will be engaging people through social media, competitions and advertising to encourage them to use it as a source of valuable information when they visit the route of Le Tour Yorkshire.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .