Coillte and HiiKER Unveil Innovative Pilot Programme to Enhance Visitor Experience at Seven Coillte Forests
Coillte, Ireland’s semi-state forestry company and leading provider of outdoor recreation, has announced an exciting new pilot programme in partnership with Irish start-up HiiKER, creators of an innovative hiking app. This initiative will offer a new and innovative way for local and visiting outdoor enthusiasts to experience Coillte forests by offering walkers and hikers real-time forest and walking trail insights before and during their visits.
Launching this summer, the pilot programme will introduce advanced features to HiiKER’s “Parks and Recreation” functionality. New enhancements include trail distances, accessibility reports and difficulty levels. Users will also benefit from real-time updates on trail busyness, parking availability, food options and toilet facilities. The HiiKer app will, for the first time, give visitors a real sense of the various activities available in Coillte’s forests and improve the overall visitor experience.
This new technology will be piloted in seven Coillte forests across the country including: Cruagh Woods, Ticknock, and Tibradden Woods in Dublin, as well as Donadea Forest Park in Kildare, Portumna Forest Park in Galway, Farran Forest Park in Cork and Dromore Forest in Kerry. Visitors to these forests will be the first to experience the enhanced capabilities offered by HiiKER.
HiiKER, is an Irish start up founded by Paul Finlay in Co. Meath. The app has helped over 1 million hikers to plan and navigate their hiking adventures all around the world. The app curates the best hikes on the planet, along with important points of interest to help users to plan the perfect hike. Most importantly, it works with the most notable map developers and cartographers to bring a wealth of verified route information to the public.
Coillte and HiiKER will pilot the technology over a six-month period, utilising Coillte’s extensive expertise. The collaboration will yield valuable insights into forest and trail usage, allowing Coillte to make data-driven decisions to further enhance the visitor experience for all.
Daithi de Forge, Head of Recreation at Coillte said “Coillte forests attract an average of 18 million visits annually and we are delighted to partner with HiiKER on this pilot which aims to enhance the walking and hiking experience across several of our beautiful forests. This innovative programme supports our commitment to enhancing the recreational, social and wellbeing benefits from our forests and to making them more accessible and enjoyable for all.
“By integrating Coillte’s extensive knowledge of the natural environment with HiiKER’s cutting-edge technology, we aim to provide visitors with an enriched, informed and seamless experience when they visit our forests.
Paul Finlay, HiiKER CEO added, “We are excited to join forces with Coillte to launch this innovative pilot programme that will transform the way people explore Ireland’s forests. Our new HiiKER Parks and Recreation functionality and Coillte’s extensive database of recreational maps and data, enables the public to explore Coillte forests like never before. We’re encouraging everyone to download the app for free and start exploring these forests today.”
Download HiiKER from the Appstore or Google Playstore and search for one of the pilot forests at the link below
Discover Hiking Trails with Hiiker
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