Author, as appears in the article.: Huertas A; Gonzalo J

Department: Estudis de Comunicació

URV's Author/s: Gonzalo Iglesia, Juan Luís / Huertas Roig, Maria Asuncion

Keywords: Presence Experience Destination image Brand communication Augmented reality

Abstract: © 2020 University of Rijeka. All rights reserved. Purpose - The goals of this study are to find out which factors contribute to AR applications generating satisfactory tourism experiences; analyze the impact of AR on destination brand communication; and examine whether the act of communicating the destination brand also increases satisfactory tourist experiences. Design - The research is based on a case study of an AR application that belongs to the city of Tarragona (Spain) that reproduces its main monuments dating from the Roman era. Methodology - The study includes one survey conducted on 150 participants (75 tourists, 75 residents) and 15 in-depth interviews with respondents who used the Imageen application. Approach - The analysis provides detailed information on the users' experiences and opinions, highlighting the different variables that provide the most satisfactory tourist experiences. Findings - The study shows that the AR application creates highly satisfactory tourism experiences, although not extraordinary. The main contribution of this study has been to demonstrate that the AR application has the potential to communicate the destination brand. Originality of the research - This study provides knowledge on the AR role in constructing a destination brand and its relationship with the tourism experience. Particularly, the findings of this paper have significant implications for DMOs and their marketing and communication strategies.

Thematic Areas: Tourism, leisure and hospitality management Hospitality, leisure, sport & tourism Geography, planning and development Ciencias sociales Business and management

licence for use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/

Author's mail: sunsi.huertas@urv.cat juanluis.gonzalo@urv.cat

Author identifier: 0000-0001-6684-4220 0000-0002-5682-1102

Record's date: 2023-08-05

Papper version: info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Link to the original source: https://hrcak.srce.hr/247681

Licence document URL: http://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/

Papper original source: Tourism And Hospitality Management. 26 (2): 419-436

APA: Huertas A; Gonzalo J (2020). The role of augmented reality in destination branding. Tourism And Hospitality Management, 26(2), 419-436. DOI: 10.20867/THM.26.2.8

Article's DOI: https://doi.org/10.20867/thm.26.2.8

Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Journal publication year: 2020

Publication Type: Journal Publications