Our Journey

What started as a passion project..

iDiscover started in 2015 as a passion project of Urban Discovery Ltd., a boutique consulting firm working on urban regeneration, heritage revitalisation projects in Asia. We found that in many of these projects, the local voice was underrepresented. There was no infrastructure for bottom-up decision-making, and residents had little say in the shaping of their environment. We met locals who told us they wanted their voices to be heard but didn’t know how. So, we decided to create a digital portal to amplify the voice of locals in Asia's historic districts so they could gain agency in their urban future.

Today, iDiscover is registered as an independent non-profit offering a platform for locals to map what matters to them. It has been an inspirational journey. We walked over a million steps, distributed over 100,000 neighbourhood maps, featured thousands of local residents and shops, made them proud and had lots of fun on the way!

I’m happy to see more young people knowing the use of herbal tea through iDiscover.
— Mrs Yeung, Shop Owner, Wanchai, Hong Kong

iDiscover helped us to uncover a culturally complex city in the throes of change. We learnt that if you take the time to walk the city, the city will talk back to you.
— Tayla, Two Humans Travel, Australia

An Award-Winning Journey

We love what we do, and we’re delighted there is a community out there that values our work. We even managed to pick up some awards on the way. No matter how big or small, each of these accomplishments marks another step in our journey. It means the world to us and the people we work with. Together, we strive to keep heritage alive.

iDiscover has won numerous awards, like the Cathay Pacific Shooting Star Award for our efforts in community-led tourism in the Asia Pacific region. We also got a few accolades under our belt in different disciplines like the use of ICT in culture, promotion of responsible tourism, human-led design, improvement of walkability. Most prominently, in 2022 we won the first prize in a global competition for digital solutions for the inclusive promotion and management of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The mapping technology and a digital publication platform offer an accessible, practical, and inexpensive IT solution for more inclusive management and branding of World Heritage Cities.
— Jury Report - Global IT Competition for World Heritage Sites


Travel Good

We believe the future of travel is responsible travel.

We meet locals, and we learn what they love.

We like getting lost.

Walk with us!


iDiscover is an award-winning, community-driven journey to explore local cultures in a new shared reality.
— Nathalie Brähler, The Future of Creative Business Conference

#GetLostWithoutGettingLost

#KeepHeritageAlive

#iDiscoverApp