Tourists install the Outing Trip app and enable GPS on their smartphones to join the game. (photo: VOV)

To participate, tourists need to install the Outing Trip app and enable GPS on their smartphones. Upon joining the Foodtour, they are grouped into small teams, each identified by different colored ribbons on their wrists. The team that completes all tasks and reaches the finish line first is declared the winner.

Nguyen Ba Tung, Outing App Director of the Outing Technology Joint Stock Company, said: “The Foodtour program in Hanoi’s Old Quarter starts at the Hang Dau botanical garden and travels toward Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc square at Hoan Kiem lake. The tour stops at 10 locations, including 7 heritage sites and outstanding Hanoi food venues, including a place that sells cakes made by Hanoians and a 70-year-old salad shop.”

The players do the task by finding the shops and buy the dishes. (photo: VOV)

In Hang Bo street, the app asks players to find the shop that’s selling a type of cake that’s displayed on the screen. The team must arrive at the correct shop and their GPS must display the correct destination in order to complete the task.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, a student at Hanoi Tourism College, said: “I’ve eaten many delicious dishes in Hanoi. This is a fantastic experience. I’ve walked a lot. And food from an authentic shop is more delicious.”

The Foodtour takes tourists to several heritage sites where the app presents historical and cultural information about the sites. The site include Quan Chưởng Gate, the ancient house at 48 Hàng Ngang where President Ho Chi Minh wrote the Declaration of Independence, and Bach Ma Temple.

Hoang Thi Men said: “I find this app very enjoyable and exciting. The instructions are simple. I hope the app will keep adding additional interesting places in Hanoi.”