Innovative Mountain Biking App to advance Tourism Industry

Technology Innovation (TI) is kicking off the mountain biking season with the release of the Montana Mountain Biking App for the Carcross area. This application is unique to all other North American trail apps and its innovative technology will revolutionize destination marketing for the tourism industry in Yukon and around the globe.

The Montana Mountain Biking App was created by Carcross Tagish First Nation (CTFN) and Yukon software developer, Stephan Bardubitzki. They have designed innovative software that has taken tourism destination marketing to a new level. Their innovative data compression technology allows the user to access high resolution maps within the app itself, offline, avoiding real-time exorbitant data roaming charges.

The App also includes geo targeted advertising, an emergency feature, and a route tracker and trail timer, giving users their exact geo location and orientation in or out of cell range. These new features provide users a heightened level of security and comfort in a wilderness setting. While this App may be designed for the Carcross area, this technology can be commercialized anywhere.

“Our goal is to stimulate the Yukon economy by advancing innovative ideas through to commercialization”, said Stephen Mooney, Director, Technology Innovation. “These software solutions have big implication for the tourism industry and can be sold to other regions around the globe”, said Mooney.

The geo-targeted advertising feature is a function that is meant to support the user and the local economy. The App will alert the user of services in the area such as accommodations, food and beverage specials, gas, and local events.

“This App will not only enhance the riders experience on our world renowned trails but we can use this tool to promote what our community has to offer”, said Justin Ferbey, Managing Director, Carcross Tagish Development Corporation. “We are confident in this technology and after a season of beta testing, we plan on marketing this product to other tourism destinations in the Yukon and beyond”, said Ferbey.

As with all new applications, this App will be tested and improved by its users. The developers will track any issues this season and modifications will be made by the end of the summer. Users can win a Go Pro camera by tracking their rides using the App with current standings found in the Apps leaderboard. Go Pro’s will be given to those with the fastest times on each trail, as well as a user who is randomly drawn. Winners will be announced in November.

The Montana Mountain Biking App is available in the Google Play Store and on iTunes.

Media are invited to Carcross on Wednesday, May 27th where the project partners and a group of mountain bikers will be convening at 10am. The group will meet at the Community Commons (in front of the Caribou Crossing coffee shop) followed by the mountain bikers heading out onto the trails to test the App.

This innovation is funded by Technology Innovation and Carcross Tagish Development Corporation. All sales revenue of the App will be used to contribute to the maintenance of the trail network.

For more information on this project, please visit our website.

Technology Innovation is one of six key programs that operate under the Yukon Research Centre at Yukon College. The others include: Biodiversity Monitoring, Cold Climate Innovation, Northern Climate ExChange, NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Mine Life Cycle, and Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic.