Could new research change holiday habits?

Writing in the tourism trade magazine Destination UK, Christina Eccles says it has been claimed groundbreaking research taking place at Manchester Metropolitan University could change the way tourists behave on holiday forever.

Senior lecturer in eTourism Dr Timothy Jung is currently working on a pilot scheme in Dublin that would allow visitors to scan buildings and receive real-time information in the form of text, pictures, animation or video. Known as Augmented Reality Tourism, the technology offers richer information updated minute-by-minute beyond the smartphone apps currently available.

 

Streetmuseum

For example the Museum of London's StreetMuseum is a free augmented reality iPhone app that allows the user to browse historical photographs in various parts of the city.The app leads one to various locations around London using either the map or GPS. Once there, clicking the “3D View” button, the app will recognize the location and overlay the historical photograph over the live video feed of the real world, giving a brief glimpse into how the past looked. See examples at  Streetmuseum view

Working with Loma Maxwell of the Economic Development Unit at Dublin City Council and Alex Gibson of the Dublin Institute of Technology, Dr Jung is testing the technology on buildings including hotels, restaurants and cinemas on Dublin’s O'Connell Street. They will be looking at using different levels of media, one will be text only, another will use photography and the third will use video or animation.

Their view is that the technology will change the way tourists experience cities,  encouraging visitors to spend more and contribute further to the tourism income of the city they are visiting. Dr Jung says the idea could spread across the globe and be really groundbreaking.

Developments in Augmented Reality Tourism could also provide a host of new real time marketing opportunities for businesses - such as local advertising to tourists

How do you think developments in technology could boost tourism in the UK?

 

Would you like to see this idea take off in our towns and cities?

 

Send your comments to the Destination UK editorial team by emailing ce@scriptmedia.co.uk. and they will print the best comments in the next issue of the magazine.

 

Or comment on this blog

Thanks to Destination UK and the Museum of London