Dublin AR: Implementing Augmented Reality in Tourism

The use of modern technology is becoming a necessity of many destinations to stay competitive and attractive to the modern tourist. A new form of technology that is being used increasingly in the public space is virtual- and Augmented Reality (AR). The aim of this paper is to investigate tourists’ requirements for the development of a mobile AR tourism application in urban heritage. In-depth interviews with 26 international and domestic tourists visiting Dublin city were conducted and thematic analysis was used to analyze the findings of the interviews. The findings suggest that although Augmented Reality has passed the hype stage, the technology is just on the verge of being implemented in a meaningful way in the tourism industry. Furthermore, they reveal that it needs to be designed to serve a specific purpose for the user, while multi-language functionality, ease of use and the capability to personalize the application are among the main requirements that need to be considered in order to attract tourists and encourage regular use. This paper discusses several significant implications for AR Tourism research and practice. Limitations of the study which should be addressed in future research are discussed and recommendations for further research are provided.