GeoSwap announced a new partnership with the Delaware Tourism Office and Delaware State Parks on Tuesday, May 9, at the Venture Development Center on the University of Delaware campus in Newark.

Developed by UD senior biomedical engineering major Jason Bamford, GeoSwap is a mobile application that allows users to know everything happening around them in their city.

The GeoSwap team also includes senior electrical engineering major Keith Doggett and senior finance major Jordan Gonzalez, both of whom are in the University Honors Program. The trio recently placed first for the student track of Hen Hatch, UD’s premier startup funding competition.

“GeoSwap is going to make it easier for visitors and residents to find fun things to do here in Delaware, adding pins that are branded with Delaware Tourism and Delaware State Parks logos,” said Linda Parkowski, director of tourism for the state of Delaware.

The application indicates areas of interest with all the details of what is happening at that “GeoSpot,” whether it is a concert or a sale at a local business.

Now, as part of their new partnership, GeoSwap will include educational content and the ability for users to create their own walking tours for the five million people who visit Delaware State Parks annually.

“[Our visitors] are looking to have technology enhance their experience in the parks,” said Ray Bevins, director of Delaware State Parks. “We are in an experience economy.”

Bevins presented one specific example of how GeoSwap will be able to enhance visitors’ experiences at Cape Henlopen, a state park in Lewes that is a little-known World War II site.

At each GeoSpot within the park, users will be able to watch educational video content about the events that took place at that location during World War II, with testimonials from Delaware veterans including the late Horace J. Knowles.

Gov. John Carney, who was in attendance for the partnership announcement, alongside U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, noted that he believes GeoSwap will help cultivate a new economy where young people will be more willing to stay in Delaware, rather than traveling to cities where there are “lots of things to do.”

“Look at GeoSwap. There are things to do, we just don’t know about them,” said Carney. “I’ve lived here just about all my life. I am 60 years old now and I’m still discovering new places in our state.”

Those involved in the partnership believe that GeoSwap will lend a helping hand in expanding the $1.3 billion tourism industry in Delaware and acknowledges that small businesses and entrepreneurs play a big role in the state’s economy.

“This is what kind of makes us who we are in the world; that entrepreneurial, innovative, pioneering spirit,” said Rochester.

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