Augmented Reality Technology: A Novel Marketing Tool in Tourism Industry
Subject Areas :Keywords: : Augmented Reality, Marketing, Tourism, Covid-19 Pandemic,
Abstract :
Introduction: Many businesses were challenged by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 worldwide. Meanwhile, the tourism industry was among those industries that were affected the most by the pandemic, suffering huge losses economically. Therefore, considering the restrictions imposed by governments on tourists’ travels to counter the spread of the virus, turning to virtual tourism can partially compensate for some of the losses incurred in this regard. Goal: Investigating the potential tourists' attitudes toward AR applications, their intention to use them in their future travels, and, similarly, their intention to recommend these applications to others. Methods: The required data were collected via online questionnaires using the convenient sampling method. The research questions were then analyzed via the SPSS software using a binominal test. Findings & Results: The results indicated the positive attitude of the respondents and their high willingness to use and recommend this application to others. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggested that the respondents had a positive attitude towards using AR-based applications and that they were willing to use them for their future travels. Moreover, it was found that they were ready to recommend such applications to others. Therefore, AR technology could be regarded as an opportunity for marketing managers of tourist destinations to use to maintain public awareness of their destinations’ brands during the lockdown imposed upon the outbreak of pandemics such as covid-19. Moreover, this new technology can help flourish tourist destinations by creating added value for tourists.
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