UAE: Emirati author creates interactive ‘scratch and scan’ guidebook for residents and tourists

UAE: Emirati author creates interactive ‘scratch and scan’ guidebook for residents and tourists

Upon scanning a QR code, readers are taken to a page which gives them several selected options under that category, with a focus on places that are off the beaten track

Published: Thu 22 Dec 2022, 6:45 PM

Kashta is an Emirati word that means ‘outing’. It is also the name of a unique adventure book which is the brainchild of an Emirati woman passionate about exploring the UAE.

Aisha Al Fahim, 25, an Abu Dhabi resident, said that her book 'Kashta' is about creating memories while exploring the UAE and targets both residents – local and expat – as well as tourists. The book, printed on recycled paper, doesn’t work like a conventional guidebook. It is divided into several categories and has a scratch section which reveals a QR code.

Upon scanning the QR code, readers are taken to a page which will be regularly updated, and which gives them several selected options under that category, with a focus on places that are off the beaten track. “The idea came during Covid when there were restrictions and we couldn’t go to Dubai, so people had to figure out what we had in Abu Dhabi,” she said.

There are several categories in the Kashta such