Determining Visitor Engagement through Augmented Reality at Science Festivals: An Experience Economy Perspective

Abstract

ugmented reality (AR) has been increasingly implemented to enhance visitor experiences, and tourism research has long understood the importance of creating memorable experiences, leadingto the research era of experience economy. Although technology-enhanced visitor engagement iscrucial for science festivals, research focusing on visitor engagement through AR using theexperience economy perspective is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine how theeducational, esthetics, escapist and entertainment experience using AR affect visitor satisfactionand memorable experience, and eventually, lead to visitor engagement with science experiencesin the context of science festivals. A total of 220 data inputs were collected as part of the EuropeanCity of Science festivities and Manchester Science Festival 2016 and analyzed using structuralequation modelling. Findings show that the four realms of experience economy influencesatisfaction and memory and, ultimately, the intention for visitor engagement with science researchat science festivals. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are presented and18 discussed.