By making it possible to see the inside of local businesses and the College of New Caledonia using Google Street View, area organizations are hoping more people will visit Northern B.C.
Two photographers from Vancouver-based Views 4 Business are in Prince George this week, to take the specialized panoramic photos that are needed to display the interiors of buildings. They will then go to other communities within the North.
"We're a Google-trusted agency," said Alex Duffield, the owner. "We're trained by Google to go in, do the panoramic photography and then upload it directly into Google Maps ourselves."
The number of panoramic photos required to fully cover a building's interior depends on the size and layout of a location. For a coffee shop-like layout, it can be usually done with five shots, which costs $400. Any additional shots cost $35 each.
However, organizations focused on tourism, like restaurants, art galleries and museums, can get a cheaper price from Northern B.C. Tourism, which has worked out a deal with Views 4 Business. The tourism organization has arranged a bulk discount and then applies a 28 per cent subsidy to the price, so a seven-shot photo shoot would cost $252 instead of $470. The limit for each tourism stakeholder is 22 shots.
"The Kootenay-Rockies region has done it in the past, and that's how we found out about it," said Tasha Peterson, the marketing co-ordinator at Northern B.C. Tourism. The tourism organization was then approached by Views 4 Business for a partnership, which it agreed to. "[The Kootenay-Rockies] said it was quite successful so that why we went forward with it."
Duffield said his business has partnered with six of the seven tourism regions in B.C.
One of the first photo shoots Views 4 Business is doing in Prince George is the local campus of CNC. Duffield said he expects the shoot to take around 150 shots over two days.
Randall Heidt, the college's executive director of external communications, said the photo shoot was an important investment. The college is not getting any subsides from Northern B.C. Tourism for its shoot.
"International students are big for us," he said. "As we have our recruiters literally go all over the world, it's going to be really great from them to be able to pull up a classroom or a lab or something for those prospective students and show them exactly what it looks like."
He added it would also help attracting domestic students from all over B.C.
The college is also looking at getting its interior mapped by Google, which would make it possible for anybody with access to Google Maps to get walking directions from their vehicle to any room inside campus. That would help groups like minor hockey and soccer, which use the college's facilities, Heidt said.
It's not the first time Views 4 Business has sent a photographer to Prince George. In December, it shot seven businesses, including a restaurant, denture clinic, optometry clinic and a shoe store. Views 4 Business also optimizes the search engine results of the businesses it shoots, making it easier for customers to find information on the Internet.
