La Laguna Unveils Immersive AR Viewpoint Network
La Laguna's Tourism Department has launched a network of "immersive viewpoints," beginning with San Roque, that utilize augmented reality to provide engaging, informative experiences and deepen visitors' understanding of the city's landscape and heritage.
The La Laguna City Council, through its Tourism Department, is launching a new network of "immersive viewpoints." These are designed to make visits to the area more engaging and informative. The San Roque viewpoint is the first to open with this new format, offering stunning views of the historic town center and the Vega Lagunera countryside.
Estefanía Díaz, the Tourism Councilor, explained that these immersive viewpoints represent a significant step forward in how La Laguna's landscape is understood and presented. They transform key locations into spaces that inform, guide, and enrich a visitor's experience right from their first contact with the municipality. She added that San Roque is the perfect spot to begin this project because of its beautiful scenery and the views it provides of both the historic center and the surrounding agricultural area, the Vega.
These new viewpoints act like virtual tourist information centers. They combine the natural beauty of the location with augmented reality (AR) technology. This AR allows visitors to identify key attractions visible from the viewpoint, access informative content, and learn about the area before exploring it. In this way, the viewpoints evolve from simple observation points into tools for understanding the landscape and the connection between the historic city and its surroundings.
This initiative is based on technical studies that proposed creating a connected network of viewpoints across the region. This system aims to organize and diversify tourism, spread out visitors more evenly, and highlight beautiful areas that didn't previously have specific ways to explain their significance.
Furthermore, this project is part of a larger plan to develop and improve the Vega Lagunera landscape, which is seen as a key asset for the city. A study by the University of La Laguna suggested this network of interconnected viewpoints. Its goal is to make it easier to understand the area, strengthen its natural and cultural identity, and encourage more balanced and sustainable tourism. This network offers more than just panoramic views; it turns these locations into spaces for learning, environmental education, and understanding the historical ties between the city and its agricultural and natural environment.
The Tourism Department believes these viewpoints are crucial for offering a wider range of tourist activities, managing visitor numbers, and creating more complete and memorable experiences for both tourists and locals. Díaz noted that adding digital and immersive features makes the project even more innovative. It changes the experience from simply looking at the landscape to truly understanding it, giving it context, meaning, and extra value.
As more of these viewpoints open, they will help establish a type of tourism that focuses on experiences, respects the local area, and supports the city's goals for sustainability and high-quality tourism.
Díaz also stressed that this initiative shows a commitment to more innovative and experiential tourism. It brings together heritage, landscape, and technology to provide useful information in an easy-to-access and appealing way. She added, "We want our visitors to understand the area they see, learn about its main features, and plan their trip in a way that's intuitive, respectful, and enriching."
The immersive San Roque viewpoint will feature an information panel with a QR code. Visitors can scan this code with their mobile phones to access an augmented reality app. This app will let them identify tourist attractions visible on the horizon. By tapping on each one, users can find detailed information, 360-degree images, and audio descriptions in multiple languages.
This project is part of the Tourism Department's wider plan to improve La Laguna's tourist offerings, enhance how visitors understand the landscape, and establish La Laguna as a destination that embraces innovation while staying true to its unique local and historical identity.