LUDLOW Chamber of Commerce is tickled pink.
The town has a new Tickle Champion, although strictly speaking, that should be a TiCL Champion, Jules McRobbie.
Her appointment has been made possible with financial support from Ludlow Chamber of Commerce, Ludlow Town Council and the local Ludlow Joint Committee grant fund.
TiCL is a phone app that works on a mobile phone which will help visitors and locals find their way around Ludlow and the surrounding area.
It uses global positioning satellite (GPS) technology so it ‘knows’ where you are, and will tell you what to look out for in the immediate vicinity.
The TiCL initiative will help visitors plan their trips and guide them around the town snapping up special offers and discovering more about the town’s rich history and present day points of interest.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the town to maximise its offer utilising smart phone technology,” said Muff Murfin, chair of Ludlow Chamber.
“It will help to put Ludlow on the map as a place to come and access multiple shopping and food trails, layers of further heritage information and leisure activities.”
Jules McRobbie will be talking to local businesses and organisations over the next few months to encourage them to sign up to TiCL. Visitors will be guided by their phones to find things they might not otherwise notice, like the town’s hidden shops that only the locals know about.
The Ludlow Food Festival used TiCL for the first time in 2013, building trails for people to follow such as the Sausage Trail and the Beer Trail, using GPS technology.
Visitors reported that it was easy to use, interactive, and fun. It benefited local businesses too.
“The town council is delighted to support TiCL in Ludlow and help people get the most out of our market town – be they heritage buffs, shoppers, walkers, families or foodies,” said Jim Smithers, mayor of Ludlow.
The Chamber says that it is like having a guide book on a tablet or mobile phone that can be carried in the pocket or handbag.