Cebu, Philippines — Holy Week has already started for Catholics in the Philippines which means that members are now prepping for the tradition of ‘Visita Iglesia’, which is the visitation of seven different churches that falls on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. This year, telco Smart’s digital tourism program ‘Panaw sa Pagtuo’ (Journey of Faith) is making the tradition more fruitful for those that are keen to visit churches in Cebu by employing QR code ‘markers’ that would share tourism and historical facts specifically on seven heritage churches in the city of Cebu.

The first four churches are St. Catherine of Alexandria Parish in Carcar, Sibonga’s Nuestra Señora del Pilar Parish, St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish Church in Santander, and the St. Michael the Archangel Church in Argao.

The next three churches included in Smart’s digital tourism program are considered national historical sites by the National Historical Institute (NHI). These are San Guillermo de Aquitana Parish Church in Dalaguete, considered a National Historical Landmark by the NHI; Nuestra Senora del Patrocinio de Maria Parish Church in Boljoon, considered a national historical treasure due to its resilient heritage by the NHI and the National Museum; and St. Michael the Archangel Church in Samboan, one of Cebu’s oldest church which was built in 1842 and nationally protected heritage structure by the NHI.

Smart’s Panaw sa Pagtuo mobile app is also available for free for pilgrims opting for virtual Visita Iglesia.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – In the spirit of the current Chinese New year festivities, Malaysia’s national QR standard DuitNow has launched a CNY-themed campaign that is consisted of a 3D CuBig billboard on Jalan Ampang that is sure to make Malaysians have a ‘roarsome’ Year of the Tiger.

The campaign features a QR code that users can scan and use an IG filter to interact with. It is the first of its kind in Malaysia and has already caught the eye of passersby, all eager to enjoy this interactive experience and share it with their friends and family.

Malaysians can send or tag unforgettable Chinese New Year greetings to their loved ones by simply scanning the QR code on the billboard and interacting with it using the IG filter.

“We wanted to give Malaysians a little something extra to be excited about this Chinese New Year, and an interactive AR experience at a prime location in Kuala Lumpur seemed like the perfect idea. Our Sure Can campaign aims to encourage Malaysians to make payments using DuitNow QR so that they can have the ultimate convenience when it comes to shopping,” a spokesperson for PayNet commented regarding the campaign.

With AR interactions normally confined to much smaller real estate such as brochures or ang-pao packets, DuitNow QR commissioned Dreamsmind by DreamsKingdoms to take on the task of bringing this to life. To make it as realistic as possible, DreamsKingdoms opted to shoot real world footage of a lion dance combined with 3D ambience as opposed to the norm of using full 3D animation, with the end result ultimately paying off.

Interested ones who want to see the campaign in action can head over to the interactive DuitNow QR billboard on Jalan Ampang, at the intersection in front of KLCC, and then scan the QR code to access the DuitNow QR Instagram filter.

Manila, Philippines – Amid ongoing restrictions for COVID-19 travel,  Airline AirAsia in the Philippines has procured additional assistance for faster contract tracing, announcing its adoption of the Traze contact tracing app. 

The app is developed by the country’s Department of Transportation (DOTr) and will now be required for use among AirAsia passengers. 

“We laud this effort from the DOTr as it is aligned with AirAsia’s objective to continuously improve the layers of safety for the health and wellbeing of all guests and employees. We expect 100% compliance and cooperation from all our stakeholders to ensure the success of this contact tracing efforts,” stated AirAsia CEO Ricky Isla.

The implementation of the app use will start on November 28 this year, and requires users to secure installation of the app before entering airport premises.

Upon downloading the Traze app, users will register on the app as an ‘individual’. Upon entering needed information, the account is activated and a personal QR code is generated. This QR code is then used for scanning by airport authorities and other designated places. 

For users that don’t have mobile devices, they can secure their QR code by approaching the Malasakit Helpdesk at their respective airports. 

The recent move is in line with AirAsia’s stringent measures in making air travel secure in compliance with national and aviation travel restrictions.