Mobile Augmented Reality Heritage Applications: Meeting the Needs of Heritage Tourists

Celine Zhao Ying Yin, Timothy Jung, M. Claudia tom Dieck and Maria Younghee Lee
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Celine Zhao Ying Yin: Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
Timothy Jung: Creative AR & VR Hub, Faculty of Business and Law, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, UK
M. Claudia tom Dieck: Department of Operations, Technology, Events and Hospitality Management, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BG, UK
Maria Younghee Lee: Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: As competition intensifies, value co-creation with tourists is essential for successful implementation of mobile augmented reality (AR) heritage applications. This study therefore aims to identify heritage tourists’ needs and involvement when developing mobile AR heritage applications using a grounded theory approach. Since AR applications are still in their infancy in the tourism industry the grounded theory approach was employed. Fifty in-depth interviews were conducted in Macau’s World Heritage Sites. The interview transcripts were analyzed by the open coding method with the NVivo software, the process of axial coding and the selective coding method. This study generated new requirements for mobile AR heritage applications that reflect the needs of the Asian tourist market, which are different from those of the European tourist market. The characteristic of tourist empowerment and the association between co-creation and tourism were also identified. This study contributes to provide a theoretical framework for designing mobile AR heritage applications and has implications for mobile AR application developers and tourism practitioners.

Keywords: augmented reality; co-creation; tourist requirements; heritage tourism; Macau (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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