The recommendation for creating a stand-alone mobile application emerged from the Digital Media Plan for Historic Sites (2015). The development of The Yukon Road Trip Mobile Application ("Road Trip Application") follows a one-government approach by merging information held by different departments into a digital product to meet public user needs.
The purpose of this project is to create a bilingual (English/French) mobile application that provides information regarding the amenities available at highway accessible campgrounds, cultural and historical points of interest, and wildlife viewing opportunities throughout the Yukon territory. The target audience is "travellers within Yukon" - both tourists and Yukon residents. The Yukon Road Trip Application will be evaluated after one year to gauge reach and effectiveness. Format and content changes may be undertaken following this evaluation.
There are 278 highway accessible sites provided in the Road Trip Application. The Government of Yukon departments of Tourism and Culture, and Environment have published public information stored on the Yukon.ca website. The Road Trip Application will be available for download via Google Play for Android devices and the Apple App store for Apple/iOS devices.
This is a cross-departmental project team with representatives from the departments of Highways and Public Works ICT e-Services, Environment's Wildlife Viewing Program and Yukon Parks, and Tourism and Culture's Historic Sites Unit. Public launch date is estimated for the winter of 2021.
Once launched, the Road Trip Application will be available to the public for the foreseeable future.
The Road Trip Application will be launched in three phases:
1. Restricted Private Beta - App will be available for internal review by selected Yukon government employees. February 2019 (complete)
2. Unrestricted Private Beta - App will be available for review by both selected Yukon government employees and members of the general public. Targeted user testing will be conducted during this phase. March 2020 (complete)
3. App Store Launch - Application will be available to the public to download from the Apple iOS app store or Android Google Play Store. Winter 2021.
