Tourists responses to the use of mobile augmented reality for travel

Mohd, Nur Shuhadah and Ismail, Hairul Nizam (2021) Tourists responses to the use of mobile augmented reality for travel. In: The Global Tourism Conference, 7-9 September 2021, Online.

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Abstract

Tourist experiences are shaped by the complexities of the individual visitor’s psychological factors, and it is widely known that tourists anticipate a positive experience from every trip made. Yet, the fact remains that travel is inextricably linked to the issues of geography and awareness and a misinterpretation of the attributes of a destination may lead to unlikely expectations that affect the entire experience. With the dynamic and interactive visualisation features offered by augmented reality (AR) on mobile phones and other smart handheld devices, this technology is viewed as being capable of closing the gap between tourist expectations and reality, thereby improving how tourists engage with their surroundings. Despite the known potential of this relatively new technology, its actual acceptance among the users is still minimal, especially in the Malaysian context. Considering this limitation, this study examined the extent of AR utilisation and its ability to influence the development of a tourists’ travel experience. The ‘Iskandar.my’ mobile AR app was used in this research to evaluate the tourists’ expectations, perception and satisfaction with the utilisation of this software platform to add value to their travel experience. The findings indicated that there was a statistically significant differences in the respondents’ experiences before and after using the AR content on the mobile app. The thrill associated with the use of this advanced technology was the primary factor in their satisfaction with the AR function. However, the lack of variety in the attractions covered, as well as the app’s currently limited offerings, were noted as factors that could affect the ‘Iskandar.my’ apps competitiveness with regard to other travel-related apps. Therefore, this researcher recommends that the developer of the app improve the design and service dimensions of the app to meet users’ travel needs.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Slide Presentation)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Mobile augmented reality, tourists experience, destination engagement, interpretation
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HM Sociology > HM1001 Social psychology T Technology > T Technology (General)
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Languages and Management
Depositing User:	Dr. Nur Shuhadah Mohd
Date Deposited:	22 Dec 2021 17:09
Last Modified:	22 Dec 2021 17:09
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/94973

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