Virtual walking tour for android phones launched

A mobile application that makes travel hassle-free for tourists in a new city in India is now available on android phones.

The free-to-download application - Incredible India WoNoBo Walking Tours App - empowers tourists not just from India, but from around the globe to take a virtual 360-degree walking tour of the city they plan to visit.

The application was developed by the tourism ministry to familiarise tourists about a particular city before they decide to visit it and to give them every important information so that they don't have to seek directions from people.

So far, the app covers 16 cities, including Agra, Ahmadabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mumbai. The ministry plans to cover 54 cities.

"Potential tourists can see the city in advance and decide if they want to visit or not," union tourism secretary Parvez Dewan said here Wednesday at a press conference.

The ministry had launched the walking tours on the Incredible India website in October, 2013 and made it available on Blackberry phones. Now, it plans to launch the app for iPhone.

This application is developed in partnership with a private technology firm - WoNoBo.com.