QR Code and NFC-Based Information System for Southland Tourism Industry-New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand is a hub of tourism. Beautiful and serene, this country plays a host to more diverse and enthusiastic travellers from across the globe and tourism is a major boost to New Zealand economy. With technology taking over all the aspects of human life, it simply makes sense to link it with tourism to enhance and augment its features and make it more hassle-free and easier for the tourists. In one such attempt, this research makes use of Quick Response (QR) code and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to augment the field of tourism in Southland, New Zealand. Quick Response (QR) code and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology are already extensively used in inventory systems, online payment systems, and lots more. This research presents a system named QR Code and NFC Bases Information System (QNBIS) for tourists visiting Southland region of New Zealand and aims at assisting the tourists by providing the information about objects of interest in their surrounding and thereby making their travelling experience easy and enjoyable. By scanning QR codes or reading NFC tags using a mobile device, the system can provide an introduction for the corresponding object and therefore provide much-needed help to a wandering tourist. The danger of malicious replacement of QR codes and NFC tags limits the scope of execution of the proposed study, and therefore to address this risk, a security strategy is implemented where three specific implementation methods are offered. Lastly, in this research, a proof of concept (POS) QNBIS prototype is implemented and evaluated. The evaluation results show that the proposed QNBIS system is a viable method to provide tourists visiting Southland, with a practical and secure way to get information about their surrounding objects of interest.