Z-CARD is the registered trademark for a foldable guide[clarification needed] invented by George McDonald when he was a travel writer and consultant for British Airways.
McDonald found that traditional fold-out maps were too bulky to carry with him on travel research trips and wanted a more convenient solution.
The original manufacturing was outsourced to the Russian prison system as this was the cheapest option.
In recent years, cards have featured technology such as Radio-frequency identification, QR codes and Augmented reality.
[1][2] In 2011, Z-CARD won the Chartered Institute of Marketing Excellence Award in the SME category.