FORTÍ Vinaròs-Maestrat | Immersive Exhibition with VR, AI and Wraparound Projection

A welcome that listens and talks back

The Vinaròs City Council trusted DeuSens to design and develop this sensory gateway to the Baix Maestrat, and that trust shows from the very first moment. The first face visitors meet is Merceditas: an avatar every local recognises, based on one of the Ulises Family figures that has taken part in the town's festivals for more than fifty years. Now brought to life as an AI-powered virtual host, Merceditas listens, understands and chats in several languages about the history, heritage and hidden corners of the Baix Maestrat, with all the warmth of someone who has told these stories forever.

The conversation flows naturally: visitors simply tap the microphone icon and speak to her as they would to a person, with no menus or commands to learn, and she answers back in her own voice in the chosen language. Nothing said is ever stored; the exchange is forgotten the moment it ends, respecting every visitor's privacy. That first conversation with artificial intelligence sets the tone for the whole immersive exhibition: warm, curious and shaped around each visitor, before they've even taken their first steps through the Centre d'Inspiració Turística.

A region you explore with a single gesture

The entire Baix Maestrat unfolds on a large interactive screen. Visitors trace a 3D map of the region with a fingertip and discover, town by town, the heritage, beaches and traditions that make it unique.

A simple tap on any point of the map brings up photos, videos and stories about that spot, and a swipe zooms in or out to change perspective, much like a map on a phone but life-size. Every visitor builds their own itinerary this way before leaving the room. It's the point in the visit where curiosity takes over: browsing the interactive map of the Baix Maestrat at your own pace, comparing, deciding which town to head to next.

Vinaròs flavours you share and take home

The interactive gastronomic table turns Vinaròs' traditional cuisine into a game for all ages. Time-honoured recipes — with local seafood and fish taking centre stage — are told through image right on the table's surface, which responds to touch like a large horizontal screen.

Anyone who wants to take a recipe home simply points their phone's camera at the QR code shown next to each dish: within seconds, the full recipe is saved to their phone, no need to write anything down. The same table also offers a quiz about Vinaròs' gastronomy and traditions, giving hints and scoring points as the game goes on, turning the after-lunch chat into a friendly little competition among whoever is sharing the table. It's a stop built for sharing a table — quite literally — between families, school groups and visitors who were strangers ten minutes earlier.

An immersive experience felt with your whole body

The visit closes with two fully enveloping experiences. In the virtual reality room, visitors put on a headset and sit at a marked spot: instantly, Vinaròs' seafaring past comes alive around them, and they can turn their head and look in any direction as if they were really there, living the journey first-hand, safely and comfortably.

Right after, an immersive cube with projection across its four walls and surround sound envelops the whole group in an original audiovisual piece about the sea, the festivals and the Mediterranean identity of the town — this time with no device needed, just stepping into the room and letting the image and sound take over. These are the two moments visitors remember on the way out: the instant they stopped looking at the exhibition and started being inside it.

A tourism inspiration centre worthy of its region

Five experiences, one single story: from the conversation with Merceditas to the immersive cube, each room builds on the last to create a visit that needs no explaining, guided simply by touching, speaking or looking around. FORTÍ has grown from an information point into the town's first stop for tourists, leaving an impression that stays and encourages visitors to explore the Baix Maestrat well beyond its doors.