Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology

Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) game as a travel guide: insights from Pokémon GO
Ajay Aluri
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To cite this document:
Ajay Aluri , (2017)," Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) game as a travel guide: insights from Pokémon GO ", Journal of
Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 8 Iss 1 pp. -
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 Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) Game as a Travel Guide:
Insights from Pokémon GO
Purpose - The specific purpose of this study is to examine the aspects of the Pokémon GO game that
influenced travelers to use the app and to pinpoint aspects of the Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) game
that can memorably engage with them like a travel guide and influence individual traveler experience
during and after usage. This current study specifically focused on examining the behavioral intentions to
use the MAR app as a travel guide in the future.
Design/methodology/approach - Descriptive methods were used, with a target population for this study
consisting of smartphone users who have downloaded Pokémon GO and have played the game. An
exponential non-discriminative sample, snowball sampling method, was chosen by selecting a group of
respondents who have played the game and using those to help identify other respondents in the target
population who have played the game. A fifteen-item survey instrument drawing from industry insights
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and academic literature was created for the purpose of the study.
Findings - The number of downloads, length of usage, and frequency of game play declined between the
months of July and September. However, a 71% majority of surveyed respondents still had the app on
their smartphone at the time of the study. The Pokémon GO app offered all four realms of experiences:
educational, entertainment, esthetic, and escapist; and enhanced the overall user experience. This study
revealed that a majority (77%) of the respondents would be interested in using Pokémon GO as a travel
guide. Furthermore, a majority (73%) of respondents stated that they would be interested in using a MAR
game as a travel guide in the future.
Research limitation/implications - For all its interaction with the real world, Pokémon GO is still just an
early version of an MAR app, and does not offer a fully immersive and interactive AR experience. The
study used snowball sampling due to its exploratory, and may not be able to guarantee the representative
nature of the sample. Concerning the research method used, such methods were necessary for a review of
an existing MAR app as a travel guide to further fill some gaps in the literature.
Practical implications - This current study bridged the gap between theory and practice by offering key
insights specifically into customers’ intentions to use the Pokémon GO game or other customized MAR
game as a travel guide in the hospitality and tourism industry. Pokémon GO and similar MAR games
could potentially change the way destinations are marketed in the tourism industry. This current study
pinpointed five exploitable qualities of MAR technology and how hospitality and tourism businesses can
use them to tap into this new global and social phenomenon.
Social implications - Pokémon GO and similar MAR games bring people together. In fact, unlike social
media, where users are spending significant amounts of time just browsing without posting or interacting
with others, MAR games create face-to-face interactions. MAR games enhance real-life social interaction,
which might signify a social media trend back toward real world networking and meeting with friends.
Originality/value) - Since the early 2000s, several qualitative and a few quantitative studies have been
done to explore (MAR) applications as a travel guide; however, none of them have reviewed a MAR
game app that can be offered as a travel guide. That makes this a pioneer study, investigating an existing
MAR app that was not created with this use in mind and examining the intentions to use it as a travel
guide.

Keywords Augmented reality, Behavioral intentions, Pokémon GO, Smartphone apps, Travel guide, User
experience
 1. Introduction
Several technology trends have altered the way hospitality and tourism businesses must market to
travelers. One of these significant trends is the use of smartphones among travelers. A recent study found
that 68% of U.S. adults have a smartphone, a substantial increase from 35% in 2011 (Anderson, 2015). In
the last five years, the number of smartphone users has almost doubled, and the increased use of
smartphones and apps did influence tourist experience and the way they communicate, consume
information, and use their time (Martha & Thomas, 2013; Olmstead & Atkinson, 2015; Wang et al.,
2016). In the last few years, the mobile user experience was transformed with the introduction of app
usage, and businesses are feeling pressure to create unique traveler experiences and to market and sell
products and services, a phenomenon called the Experience Economy. While the term “Experience
Economy” was first proposed by Pine and Gilmore in 1998, the reality that businesses should
“intentionally use services as a stage, and goods as props, to engage individual travelers in a way that
creates a memorable event” has not been realized by businesses until recent years (Pine & Gilmore,
1998). What will be the future of mobile apps, and how can hospitality and tourism businesses stage these
unique mobile user experiences to engage with travelers?
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Pine and Gilmore (2011) also proposed that experiences can happen in four different realms—
educational, entertainment, esthetic, and escapist—on a scale of passive participation vs. active
participation and immersion vs. absorption. According to a study conducted by Nielsen (2015) &
Olmstead and Atkinson (2015), the emergence of entertainment categories—gaming, music,
video/movies, multi-category entertainment, sports, and books/magazines/comics—is a significant
contributor to the overall increase in mobile app usage. Nielsen (2016a) found that gaming is now an
aspect of modern culture and is a top entertainment activity for gamers around the world. Furthermore, it
appears that mobile gaming apps have created a new eco-system by providing a platform for the gaming
landscape, and the growing popularity of eSports, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR)
games in this category is making gamers and non-gamers even more of an interesting and attractive
market (Nielsen, 2016b). Unlike Virtual Reality (VR), which blocks users from direct interaction with the
real-world environment, Augmented Reality (AR) implements user location to allow users to interact with
the real and virtual worlds at the same time. Augmented Reality (AR) mobile apps have been available
since 2010, but their use has not been widespread, with one notable exception. The July 6, 2016 release of
Pokémon GO changed everything, and the app remains a global and social phenomenon.

Many of us already know that Pokémon, a portmanteau of Pocket Monsters, is the name of a
Japanese animated television series about mixed-species animals. First launched in 1996, the franchise
has since broadcasted five TV series, including some international versions, a video game series, and
several feature films (Nianticlabs.com, 2016; Pokémon.com, 2016). Pokémon GO is the biggest MAR
game and became the top grossing app in the US within a few hours of release, causing Nintendo’s
market value to rise $9 billion in 5 days, and attracting 21 million daily active users (AppAnnie, 2016;
Touchstone Research, 2016). Brooke (2016) of the American Marketing Association found that the
Pokémon GO app has become the fastest-growing mobile game in history, and usage time of the app
surpassed all other social media apps within 24 hours of its release.. According to the APPInstitute.com
(2016) real-time stats, Pokémon GO downloads have significantly slowed down, but the app is still the
biggest US mobile game ever. Practitioners and researchers have questioned whether the Mobile
Augmented Reality (MAR) game is just a fad or if there will be any future increase in the use of AR in
mobile games.
Though several studies have been done regarding the use of MAR applications in the tourism
industry, very few studies have focused on travelers’ use of MAR games as a travel guide, using the most
popular AR game, Pokémon GO as the study focus. The specific purpose of this study is to examine the
aspects of the Pokémon GO game that influenced travelers to use the app and to pinpoint aspects of the
MAR game that can memorably engage with them like a travel guide and influence individual traveler
experience during and after usage. This current study specifically focused on examining the behavioral
 intentions to use the Pokémon GO or a similar MAR app as a travel guide in the future. By examining the
potential of a MAR game and its use in the tourism industry, this study bridges the gaps in the literature
concerning AR experiences and applications. This research study offers new insights into the future of
MAR and the success of Pokémon GO, as well as possible reasons why the daily user numbers have
dropped over time. The results of this study will potentially focus and direct further research in the area.
See Figure 1 to review how Pokémon GO offers the four realms of experiences.

[Insert Figure 1]

2. Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) Review

2.1 The use of the Pokémon GO MAR app as a travel guide in the industry
Beyond reviewing the use of MAR apps in the academic literature, it is vital to review their use in
the industry, because several tourism businesses have already embraced the game. Attractions including
the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, the National Park Service, and the Denver Zoo have created
events, promotions, and educational classes using Pokémon GO as a guide, and they found that it
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increased revenue and public attention and drew more visitors, especially young travelers (Carlton, 2016;
Denverpost.com, 2016; Meyers, 2016; @NatlParkService, 2016). Additionally, some travel agencies,
theme parks, and tour companies have successfully created personalized trips, guides, and tours for
travelers using the Pokémon GO game as a platform, and found that travelers are showing more interest in
visiting these attractions and destinations (Campbell, 2016; Geckosadventures.com, 2016; Feldberg,
2016; Sixflags.com, 2016). Furthermore, tourist marketing organizations, convention and visitor bureaus
(CVBs), and destination management organizations (DMOs) have used Pokémon GO as a travel guide
that covers destination activities, attractions, landmarks, hotels, restaurants, etc., and offered interactive
maps, deals, and discounts to visitors (Dressman, 2016; Travelportland.com, 2016; Visit Anaheim, 2016;
Denverpost.com, 2016; Icflorida.com, 2016; Visit Orlando.com, 2016).
Table 1 offers a quick snapshot and examples of a few tourism businesses that have used
Pokémon GO as a travel guide. Several researchers and practitioners reviewed the use of Pokémon GO
since its launch and found that the numbers have declined consistently (AppInstitue.com, 2016; Kawa &
Katz, 2016). When collecting data for this current study, the following three research questions
concerning whether the app downloads, usage, and frequency of game play by Pokémon GO users
declined between July and September. Additionally, this study explored some potential reasons for the
decline in downloads and use of the Pokémon GO app.

[Insert Table 1 here]

1. Did the Pokémon GO app downloads among respondents decline between the launch of the
app in July 2016 and September 2016?
2. Did the use of the Pokémon GO app among respondents decline from the launch of the app in
July 2016 and September 2016?
3. Did the frequency of game play of the Pokémon GO app decline between the launch of the app
in July 2016 and September 2016?
4. What are the top three sources through which respondents came to know about Pokémon GO?

Considering the model offered by Pine and Gilmore (2011; 1998), did Pokémon GO offer the
four realms of experience to users—Educational; Entertainment; Esthetic; and Escapist—which led to the
overall success of the game? Besides answering that question, this study explored the usage of the
Pokémon GO app, user preferences, and most-liked or disliked features within the app. Based on these
industry insights, the following research questions were examined:
5. Did the Pokémon GO game offer educational experiences that enhanced the overall experience
of using the MAR app?
 6. Did the Pokémon GO game offer entertainment experiences that enhanced the overall
experience of using the MAR app?
7. Did the Pokémon GO game offer esthetic experiences that enhanced the overall experience of
using the MAR app?
8. Did the Pokémon GO game offer escapist experiences that enhanced the overall experience of
using the MAR app?

2.2 Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) applications in academia

In the last four decades, social science researchers have widely studied behavioral intentions. In the early
1970s and 1980s, pioneering studies of Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Theory of Planned
Behavior (TPB) explored beliefs, affects, and attitudes as motives of travelers that predict behavior
(Ajzen, 1985; 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) define behavioral intentions as
the “degree to which an individual’s intention is measured based on a specific behavior” (p.288). It has
been argued that TRA and TPB offers a rational model that provides a general framework in measuring
individual intentions, but they cannot identify specific beliefs that influence a particular behavior (Davis
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et al., 1989). Davis (1985) and Davis et al. (1989) suggest using the Technology Acceptance Model
(TAM) as an alternative to explain user acceptance of technology. Several studies have adapted and
extended the TAM model by adding several constructs and antecedents; however, behavioral intentions to
use and accept new and emerging technologies were consistent across all these studies. For instance,
several researchers including Radder and Han (2015) in the context of heritage museums, Loureiro (2014)
in the area of rural tourism, Hosany and Witham (2010) in the area of the cruise industry, Oh et al. (2007)
in tourism applications, and Gilmore and Pine (2002) in hospitality operations have investigated the
traveler experience and its influence on behavioral intentions based on the Pine and Gilmore (1998; 2011)
model. Because of these well-established findings, this current study proposes that the experience
dimensions of the MAR game influences traveler intentions to use the Pokémon GO app or another
customized MAR app as a travel guide.
Since the early 2000s, researchers in academia have focused on Augmented Reality (AR)
applications in the hospitality and tourism industry. For instance, Vlahakis et al. (2002) created and tested
a guide app called Archeoguide at the ancient Olympia archaeological site in Greece. After a short gap in
MAR research literature, several researchers created and tested an AR-enabled mobile guide in museums,
cultural sites, and heritage tourism, and found that visitors experienced a fast learning curve and
expressed a positive attitude after using the MAR guide (Choubassi et al., 2010; Choudary et al., 2009;
Damala et al., 2008). Outside of applications in the tourism industry, Chou and ChanLin (2012)
successfully used a MAR app for a university campus touring system. A few other researchers have not
only developed and tested MAR apps but have also empirically measured travelers’ intentions to use
these applications (Chung et al., 2015; Haugsevedt & Krogstie, 2012; Kourouthanassis et al., 2015). In
addition to MAR applications, Tom Dieck et al. (2016) investigated visitors’ needs related to a wearable
smart glass AR application at a few museums and an art gallery, and found that wearable AR is still in
early stages of development, with several technical and design issues he reported as obstacles to full
adoption. In summary, all of these studies have explored the use of MAR apps as a travel guide and found
a significant positive reception of this idea among travelers, but none of these studies used a MAR game.
Table 2 is a table with a quick snapshot of MAR studies in academic literature that have
investigated travel guide applications. Because there is a significant knowledge gap to date, this current
study examined travelers’ behavioral intentions to use the Pokémon GO app as a travel guide when it is
utilized by a travel business, and the general use of MAR apps as travel guides in the future. Drawing
from the above findings in academic literature, the following research questions were considered when
examining the use of Pokémon GO as a travel guide:
9. Would a majority of Pokémon GO users have positive behavioral intentions during game play
to explore a travel attraction, if the game was offered as a travel guide?
10. Would a majority of smartphone users have positive behavioral intentions when using Mobile
Augmented Reality (MAR) if that technology was offered as a travel guide in the future?
 [Insert Table 2 here]

3. Methods
3.1 Sample, Data Collection, and Research Design
Descriptive methods were used, with a target population for this study consisting of smartphone
users who have downloaded Pokémon GO and have played the game. According to Nielsen (2016c), the
majority of smartphone users are Millennials (ages 18-24), with 98% of that generation owning
smartphones. Furthermore, according to Duggan (2015) of Pew Research Center, 67% of young adults
(ages 18-29) are likely to play a video/online game, and 22% of them identify themselves as gamers. To
get a good representative sample of this kind of Pokémon GO users, i.e. young adults ages (18-29), a non-
probability sampling method was used. An exponential non-discriminative sample, snowball sampling
method, was chosen by selecting a group of respondents who have played the game and then using those
to help identify other respondents in the target population who have also played the game.
The target population for this current study is young adults, because they are the majority of
smartphone users and are the primary players of a MAR game. In order to assess these Pokémon GO
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users, i.e. young adults ages 18-29, a non-probability sampling method was used. To review the
respondent’s usage, experiences, and intentions to use the app as a travel guide, data was collected for
three weeks at the end of September into the middle of October 2016. This also was to review whether the
usage and downloads of the game declined as predicted by several industry researchers and practitioners.
According to Sonders (2016) at Survey Monkey, Kawa and Katz (2016), and AppInstitute.com (2016), in
the U.S., reportedly there were 23-21 million active users in July, but by October this number had
declined to 15.4 million, and global statistics for the app have followed a similar pattern. Taking into
account the recommendations of Smith (2013) regarding sample size with a confidence level of 95%,
confidence interval of +/-5%, and a population of approximately 25 million, a sample size of 384 was
needed for this current study. Out of 571 responses, 488 were complete, because those respondents had
played the game using their mobile smartphone. Please review Table 1 below for the characteristics of the
sample.

[Insert Table 1 here]

Using Qualtrics software, an online survey was created, consisting of eleven questions exploring
the respondent’s usage, preferences, and intentions to use the MAR game as a travel guide, followed by
four demographic questions: age, gender, highest education level achieved, and total household income.
The first question of the survey was a screening question to make sure that the respondents had played the
game on their smartphone. The next three questions reviewed their usage of the Pokémon GO app,
covering the first time they downloaded the game; if they still used the Pokémon GO app; and if they had
deleted it, how long they had the app on their phone. This section of the survey also asked about the top
three sources through which respondents came to know about the Pokémon GO app. The next four
questions explored their experiences with the Pokémon GO app that are identified in this study based on
the measures suggested by Pine and Gilmore (2011). The last two questions examined the intentions to
use the game as a travel guide; whether they would use the Pokémon GO game if tourism destinations or
businesses were to create a tour guide to explore the destination or landmarks; and finally, whether they
would be interested in using an MAR game in the future as a travel guide. This current study adopted the
approach of ‘mixed methods design’ proposed by Venkatesh et al. (2013), because this is the first phase
of a sequential mixed methods design, with the expectation that the results of this study will offer
evidence and conceptual framework for a later quantitative study. Furthermore, when examining
emerging technologies it is vital to adopt a sequential ‘mixed model’ design with an insightful meta-
inferences (design quality and explanation quality) that puts trustworthiness, rigor, and quality aspects
above concerns about statistical reliability and validity of a survey questionnaire (Golafshani, 2003;
Venkatesh et al. 2013) in the theory development process in order to bridge the gaps in the literature
concerning new phenomena such as Pokémon GO.
 4. Research Findings
4.1 Pokémon GO usage
The results offer key insights regarding the use of Pokémon GO, and showed that app downloads have
declined predictably between the months of July and October. Among the 488 respondents studied, 68%
of them downloaded the app on their mobile phone in the month of July, when it was first released, 28%
of them downloaded the app in August, and the remaining 3% downloaded the app in September.
Furthermore, the study results showed that frequent use of the Pokémon GO app also declined between
the months of July and October. Out of the 488 users studied, 71% of them still had the Pokémon GO app
on their mobile phone, but 29% of them had already deleted the app by the time they participated in this
survey. Among the respondents who deleted the app, 15% of them deleted the app in August, 7% in July,
and the other 7% in September. Furthermore, when asked how frequently (i.e. 3-5 times a week) they
played the Pokémon GO game when it was installed on their smartphone, 47% of them said they played
frequently until the month of August, 29% played often until September, and 23% played often only in
the month of July. However, it should be noted that most respondents frequently played the game until
August, and a 71% majority still had the app on their smartphone. In short, the number of downloads,
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length of usage, and frequency of game play declined between the months of July and September,
supporting the first three research questions; however, this does not yet explain why the use of the
Pokémon GO app declined over those months.
To try to answer that, this current study found that the top three sources through which
respondents came to know about Pokémon GO were the media buzz or online sources (53%), a referral
from a friend (33%), and a referral from a family member (10%). In the months of July and early August,
the Pokémon GO app was trending in Google Search, app stores, and in media coverage around the world
(Kawa & Katz, 2016). Therefore, the media hype and Word-of-Mouth (WOM) from friends and family
are the reasons the app received such widespread early adoption among smartphone users. Some of the
respondents also stated that the Pokémon GO brand and familiarity of the traditional game among young
adults are other reasons for quick adoption. Respondents reported that some of the features that they
disliked the most included not finding many Pokémon in the area (34%), a lack of PokéStops in the area
(19%), and limited interaction with the real world (11%). Additionally, some of the respondents who
considered themselves “gamers” of the traditional Pokémon GO game reported that they disliked the lack
of classic battles that were necessary against the wild Pokémon, the inability to choose attacks with the
other players around the user, and the tracking feature (which was removed), and that these were some of
the reasons for the decline in the usage of the app.

4.2 Pokémon GO experiences and preferences

The Pokémon GO brand, popular familiarity with the traditional game, and media hype/WOM
may be the reasons for quick adoption of the app, but the user experience of the MAR game was the
primary reason for early adoption among all the smartphone users surveyed. Apart from examining the
reasons for the quick adoption of the Pokémon GO game, this study examined user experience within the
MAR app that led to its early adoption among smartphone users. The overall experience of the app was
examined based on the four realms of experiences provided by Pine and Gilmore (2011; 1998).
a. Educational: When respondents located a PokéStop, a majority of respondents (58%) stated
that they were curious to know more information about the PokéStop and the significance of the
landmark. This is an interesting insight from this current study, because it found that most players were
curious to know or learn about PokéStop and the significance of the landmarks they encountered.
b. Entertainment: When asked about the entertainment experiences they most liked about the
Pokémon GO MAR app, a majority of respondents (72%) revealed that the ability to capture Pokémon
and interact with the augmented world within the real-world experience added to the overall MAR
experience. Some of the concerns that the respondents reported were the lack of many Pokémon and
PokéStops in the nearby area (14%) and limited interaction with the real world (12%).
 c. Esthetic: The entire Pokémon GO game and the app design offers an immersive experience,
allowing users to participate passively, with the ability to monitor app activity and view Pokéstop and
Pokémon without logging in to play the actual game. When this study examined these esthetic
experiences, a number of respondents (52%) revealed that the ability to see the virtual maps and the
ability to review Pokémons in the Pokédex and shop for and review items such as potions, revive, eggs,
lures, berries, and Poké Balls enhanced the overall experience of the Pokémon GO MAR app.
d. Escapist: The immersive part of the Pokémon GO app requires active participation, which gave
users physical exercise while they roamed to catch and collect items and rare Pokémon to fill the
Pokédex. Additionally, users joined teams to train and battle with other teams or users to control real
world locations, which double as virtual locations called Gyms. A majority of respondents (55%)
mentioned that the Pokémon GO app offered an escape experience that enhanced the overall MAR app
experience. By contrast, 11% disliked the feature because it required a physical walk to play the game.
Hence, the four research questions that examined the realms of experiencesEducational,
Entertainment, Esthetic, and Escapistwere established, demonstrating that the Pokémon GO app offered
all of these experiences and that they enhanced the overall user experience of the MAR app.
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4.3 Pokémon GO and the use of a MAR app as a travel guide

If tourism destinations or businesses create a travel guide to explore real-world landmarks using a
MAR game, like Pokémon GO, this study revealed that a majority (77%) of the respondents would be
interested in playing that game to explore the destination or landmarks. Apart from Pokémon GO, if
businesses were to offer in the future another customized MAR app as a travel guide, particularly one that
covered the four realms of experiences, a majority (73%) of respondents stated that they would be
interested in using that MAR game as a tour guide. Therefore, the last two research questions were
established, demonstrating that the Pokémon GO app or a similar MAR app that offers all four realms of
experiences can be used as a travel guide in the hospitality and tourism industry.

5. Discussion and Implications

The results of this study offered real-life insights into the global phenomenon of the Pokémon GO game
and shed light on its usage among smartphone users, the overall user experience of the Mobile
Augmented Reality (MAR) app, and intentions to use it as a travel guide. These findings suggest that it is
worth exploring the Pokémon GO phenomenon as a widely-adopted MAR app, to further explore its
applications and examine the overall MAR experience and how this experience can engage individual
tourists in the hospitality and tourism industry.

5.1 Theoretical Implications

Table 2 is a comprehensive overview of academic studies in the tourism industry that focused on MAR
apps used as travel guides. It is important to mention that none of these studies have reviewed a MAR
game as a travel guide, but with the emergence of Pokémon GO, it is worth reviewing whether travelers
would be interested in using Pokémon GO or a similar MAR game as a travel guide when exploring a
destination. Since the early 2000s, several qualitative and a few quantitative studies have been done in
this area; however, none of them have reviewed a MAR game app that can be offered as a travel guide.
That makes this a pioneer study, investigating an existing MAR app and examining the intentions to use it
as a travel guide.
Apart from examining Pokémon GO app usage, this current study examined four realms of
experiences (Jurowski, 2009; Pine & Gilmore, 2011) and how these experiences enhanced the overall user
experience of the MAR app. Investigating the intentions to use Pokémon GO as a travel guide also fills
the gaps in the industry literature, because several travel businesses are already using the app to provide a
guide to travelers. MAR game technology is still in its infancy (Trojan, 2016), and this study offers key
insights into how early adoption of the Pokémon GO or similar app offered smartphone users these four
realms of experiences. The MAR travel guide in the future should not merely give information but should
 also focus on experience. Tourism and hospitality business developers should focus on how they can
innovatively use this information to enhance the image of the destination or business for travelers as they
use the guide.
Finally, this current study bridged the gap between theory and practice by offering key insights
specifically into the intentions to use the Pokémon GO game or other customized MAR game as a travel
guide in the hospitality and tourism industry. A proposed conceptual framework for future studies based
on Radder and Han (2015) is offered below (Figure 2) for researchers and practitioners. More empirical
and casual studies are needed to further examine this global and social phenomenon of Pokémon GO and
MAR apps.

[Insert Figure 2 here]

5.2 Managerial Implications

Pokémon GO and similar MAR games could potentially change the way destinations are marketed in the
tourism industry. However, employing a simple marketing strategy such as using Pokémon GO will not
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be effective for every customer. Businesses using this game for marketing will have to customize and
personalize PokéStops in close proximity to their location by creatively offering value-added services or
products to their customers in order to see any eBusiness ROI. For instance, Trojan (2016) proposed that
the geotagged points of interest (POIs) of a destination or landmark can be effectively transformed into
tourist hotspots using tools such as Junaio, Layar, and Wikitude. Finally, Pokémon GO and similar MAR
games bring people together. In fact, unlike social media, where users are spending significant amounts of
time just browsing without posting or interacting with others, MAR games enhance face-to-face
interactions. MAR games create real-life social interaction as well, which might signify a social media
trend back toward networking and meeting with friends in the real world. The following is a list of five
exploitable qualities of MAR technology that are already changing the tourism industry, and how tourism
businesses can use them to tap into this phenomenon:
1. Engage untapped target population: This current study found that a majority (71%) of the
Millennials still have the Pokémon GO app on their mobile phones. Research studies have confirmed that
half of the U.S. population play video games, and the average game player is 35 years old, which should
mobilize businesses to create a new customer-facing dialogue with these travelers (esa.com, 2016; Martha
& Thomas, 2013). With MAR games, such as Pokémon Go, tourism destinations can reach a mostly
untapped population: Millennials. These games can go farther, attracting Generation X and Z as well.
2. Guided AR experiences for travelers: The results of this study showed that MAR apps can offer
entertainment experiences, but the limited interaction with the real world while customers use the app was
one of the top three things respondents disliked about of the Pokémon GO app. Travel destinations need
to enhance those experiences by personalizing and customizing MAR game services. Also, offering free
Wi-Fi and a map with labeled PokéStops or Gyms will help visitors to make the best use of the MAR
game while exploring the attraction. If possible, tourist destinations should develop their own AR game
and customize the experience to the point that travelers are so captivated by the experience that they keep
coming back, bringing others with them. For example, the National Mall and Memorial Parks are already
reviewing a customized MAR app that can offer a similar user experience to Pokémon GO (Ollig,
personal communication, August 23).
3. Putting landmarks and destinations “on the map” for tourists: The Pokémon GO game offered
esthetic and escapist experiences which made travelers curious to know more information about the
PokéStops or Gyms. PokéStops or Gyms can potentially make a simple, formerly-unnoticed landmark
suddenly become a popular destination. For instance, Paul Ollig, Chief Interpretation and Education
official of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, stated that the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial has
become the most popular landmark in the National Mall because of Pokémon GO (Ollig, personal
communication, August 23, 2016; Trojan, 2016). Although gamers may not come back frequently to play
AR games, if they have a unique experience at the destination, they may visit again and bring their friends
and family.
 4. Create a Travel Guide with a MAR game: This new study offered empirical evidence that
Pokémon GO or similar MAR games can be used as a travel guide, with information about the landmark
posted at every PokéStop and Gym, bringing travelers and gamers together. Additionally, parks,
museums, and neighborhoods can offer travel guides for gamers who are interested in exploring these
destinations while playing the game. In the future, travel guides can be built specifically to use MAR
games to take visitors around a destination, instead of directing them to explore it with simple traditional
maps (Travel Portland.com, 2016; Travel Anaheim, 2016).
5. Educational Component of the AR game: When using the Pokémon GO app, travelers found
that the game offered an educational experience and most users wanted to learn about the significance of
the landmarks. Unlike home video games that keep players indoors, MAR games are played on the move.
These days, because of AR apps like Pokémon GO, children and young teenagers are asking parents to
take them to tourist destinations such as the National Mall, National Parks, and National Historic
Landmarks (Ollig, P, personal communication, August 23, 2016). Whether or not they are conscious of it,
they are learning about these landmarks while they are walking around and “catching them all.” Parents in
the future will be interested in taking their children to tourist destinations that offer an educational
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component for the AR game, and this new way to teach children about things like art, history, and design
will change the way future generations travel and choose destinations when they grow up (Choubassi et
al., 2010; Dressman, 2016; Trojan, 2016).

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for future research

By offering a free download of an interactive and immersive AR smart phone experience, coupled with a
remarkable amount of media hype and word-of-mouth, Pokémon GO quickly bypassed many early
adopters’ fears and limitations and was embraced by a majority of smartphone consumers. For all its
interaction with the real world, Pokémon GO is still just an early version of an MAR app, and does not
offer a fully immersive and interactive AR experience (Tom Dieck et al., 2016). The study used snowball
sampling due to the exploratory nature of this current study, which may not guarantee the representative
nature of the sample. In regard to the research method used, such methods were necessary for a review of
an existing MAR app as a travel guide in the tourism industry, due to a lack of literature on this subject.
There has been a decline in the use of Pokémon GO app, and this current study explored the
features that users like or did not like in the game to try to learn the reason; however, there may be other
reasons such as lack of interest in or a decline in public curiosity about the game, or other concerns about
safety, security, or other factors that were not explored in this current study. Therefore, future studies
should focus on different experiences travelers are seeking and what causes travelers to adopt or abandon
the MAR games as they explore or travel to destinations. Future studies could review Radder and Han
(2015), Loureiro (2014), Hosany and Witham (2010), Oh et al. (2007), and Gilmore and Pine (2002) for
developing an extended survey questionnaire for the experience dimensions and expand on the proposed
conceptual framework (Fig. 10) further than just behavioral intentions in relation to MAR apps.
When businesses offer unique experiences using customized and personalized MAR games, users
may be more satisfied with their products and services, and may eventually purchase, recommend, and
return for more purchases. MAR technology and applications are here and will continue to draw attention
to themselves in the market as the technology improves. Therefore, future empirical research should focus
on user experience and traveler intentions to use MAR apps in the tourism industry. This current study
focused specifically on the young adults, i.e. Millennials, but there is need for future studies to review the
behavioral intentions to use Pokémon GO or similar MAR apps as travel guides among other age groups.
One segment of travelers and young adults that had not been previously examined by itself in the
literature are the “gamers,” but this study sets the stage for future academic researchers to further review
this segment of travelers.
Currently, some of the key players in the smartphone industry are exploring AR and will soon
offer apps to mainstream markets. Reportedly, several major technology companies are investing in AR
technology following the success of Pokémon GO, and venture capitalist funds and corporations have
invested $2 billion in AR and VR applications; in fact, the market is expected to hit $120 billion by 2020
 (Touchstone Research, 2016). Therefore, more academic research and empirical studies are required to
keep up with industry innovation and guide practitioners and travel businesses on best practices for
creating or using customized MAR apps and games in the tourism industry.

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Table

Absorption

Pokémon: Short for pocket monsters, Pokéstop: Tourist landmark/ public

entertaining characters in the game
(augmented interface) that users can
hunt, catch, and collect in and around
the Pokéstop.
Entertainment: Virtual map of the user
location and augmented interface with
an ability to hunt and catch Pokémon.
Entertainment
Passive
Participation
Pokédex: Users can check Pokédex to
learn about Pokémon they have caught Esthetic
or seen. They can also access virtual
maps, shop, and review items such as
potions, the revive feature, eggs, lures,
berries, Pokéballs, etc.
places (heritage, historical, cultural,
businesses & social sites) where users
can collect virtual items such as eggs,
revives, potions, and Pokéballs.
Educational: For instance, Pokéstops
offers more information of the
landmarks and historical places around
Educational the world for users.
Active
Participation
PokéGym: Users join teams to
Escapist train/battle against other users/teams to
control these virtual meeting places
associated with real-world locations.

Esthetic: The ability to virtually review Escapist: The Gym, where gamers can
the Pokédex, find, and capture new and join teams, capture a Gym for their
rare Pokémon in the real world offers a team, and battle the Pokémon of rival
unique esthetic experience teams.

Immersion

Figure 1. The Four Realms of Pokémon GO Experience

(Adapted from Pine & Gilmore, 1998; 2011)
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Table

Table 1
Review of Pokémon GO use among the hospitality and tourism industry

Type of Exh
Name of Business Pokémon GO Application
Business ibit
Dallas Arboretum and Tourist Created events, promotions, and education classes using the Pokémon GO app as a guide, so that visitors can 2
Botanical Garden Attraction take a tour of the grounds and learn about plants that resemble Pokémon characters (Meyers, 2016). Revi
ew
Personalized trips from Lima to Cuzco, Cuzco to Quito, Quito to Cairo, Cairo to Ho Chi Minh City, and of
Geckos Adventures Travel Agency
ending in Bangkok, while tourists could catch Pokémon globally (Geckosadventures.com, 2016). Mo
bile
National Park Service Tourist The NPS embraced Pokémon GO in the first week of its release, with Dir. Jon Jarvis inviting gamers to the Aug
(NPS) Attractions parks and recognizing that the game drew more young travelers (Carlton, 2016; @NatlParkService, 2016) men
Promoted Pokémon GO event by activating dozens of lure modules and allowing visitors the opportunity to ted
SeaWorld Orlando Theme Park Rea
find the rarest Pokémon in the park (Feldberg, 2016).
lity
Adventure The park created a players guide to the Pokémon adventure, with five Gyms and 35 Pokéstops, as well as a (MA
Six Flags, NJ
Theme Park list of tips and training practices while playing at the theme park (Sixflags.com, 2016). R)
stud
Sunrise Pedal Trolley, Offered a "Pokémon-catching Tour" around Bay City, Michigan for $20. Ran two tours and sold every ticket, ies
City Tours
Bay City, MI and found that more people visited downtown during the height of the Pokémon mania (Campbell, 2016). and
Tourist Purchased $380 of lure modules to attract people to visit the zoo. In return, the zoo increased its revenue to a its
The Denver Zoo appl
Attraction $58,000 increase with 5,000 more people visiting the zoo in a weekend (Denverpost.com, 2016).
icati
Conventions Created a Pokémon GO travel guide with over 50 stops that covered destinations, activities, attractions, ons
TravelPortland.com and Visitors landmarks, hotels, restaurants etc. and places that offered game-related deals and discounts in
Bureau (Travelportland.com, 2016) the
Convention and tour
A beginner’s guide to help visitors catch Pokémon in the city's public spaces. This guide included places
Visit Anaheim Visitor Bureau ism
such as Disneyland Park, Anaheim Convention Center, and the Downtown District (Visit Anaheim, 2016).
(DMOs) indu
Official travel stry
and tourism Transformed the town’s historic trolley system into the Pokémon Express and offered extended stops at
Visit Cheyenne, WY
marketing Lions Park, “premiere Pokémon catching grounds.” (Denverpost.com, 2016)
organization
Convention & Created a “Poké-tacular Weekend,” a celebration of the Pokémon GO phenomenon with a guide throughout
Visit Orlando
Visitors Bureau Orlando, including a $1,000 prize, and an interactive GPS Pokémap (Icflorida, 2016; Visit Orlando, 2016).

Convention & Created a travel guide to catch Pokémon and see major landmarks all over the city, including downtown, the
Visit Houston Visitors NASA Space Center, Kemah Boardwalk, The Galleria, the Arboretum, and the Museum District (Dressman,
Bureau (DMOs) 2016).
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Table

Authors MAR Tourism Sector Research Findings

application/device Approach

Vlahakis et al. Pen-tablet mobile Archeological Qualitative Archeoguide, an AR guide, was tested at the ancient Olympia
(2002) unit tourist guide research archaeological site in Greece. Users of the AR glasses offered
positive feedback and enjoyed the AR reconstructions and
information offered through navigation and audio narration.
Damala et al. An ultra-mobile Museum guide Qualitative An AR mobile museum guide was designed and implemented as part
(2008) PC equipped research of the study. A survey of museum visitors revealed that they
with webcam developed a moderate or a strong positive attitude to visit after using
mobile AR app.
Choudary et al. Developed in Cultural Qualitative An app called Mobile Augmented Reality for Cultural Heritage
(2009) Symbian C++ heritage Research (MARCH) was demonstrated to enhance cultural heritage tourism.
and runs on a tourism guide This demo provided a multimedia solution for tourists to interact
Nokia N95 with sites and discover prehistoric engravings.
Choubassi et al. Augment subset Tourist guide Qualitative Using an AR mobile application that utilized a combination of motion
(2010) of geotagged for research estimation algorithms and orientation sensors, this paper
Wiki pages, destinations demonstrates how tourism information and tourist guides can be
database with provided to travelers in a more immersive way on mobile devices.
images
Chou & ChanLin Implementation University Qualitative A freeware MAR app, Layer, was used to develop a commercial and
(2012) tool, Layar was campus tour research customized campus tourism system integrated with Facebook
used guide functionality for visitors.
Haugsevedt & Location-aware The Historical Quantitative A prototype of a mobile AR application was developed with historical
Krogstie (2012) app to present Tour Guide research photographs and information about a historical street. The results
local historical indicate that both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment
photographs directly influences intention to use the MAR app.
Chung et al. (2015) Unmanned Tourist guide Quantitative A MAR application called ‘Deoksugung Palace in my hands,’ was
mobile tour for cultural research developed, which includes photos, videos, and 3D images. PU and
guide system treasures PEOU influenced intentions to use an AR mobile application to visit
a destination, mediated by attitude.
Kourouthanassis et CorfuAR tour Tour guide Quantitative One study analyzed the functional properties of a MAR application
al. (2015) guide for research that displays information about point of interests (POIs), landmarks,
Andriod devices and social media features. It found that the MAR application evoked
feelings of pleasure and arousal, which, in turn, influenced
behavioral intentions to use.
 Table

Table 2
Respondents’ Demographic Profile (N = 488)

Category Frequency (n) Percentage (%)

Gender
Male 208 42.6
Female 279 57.2
No response 1 .2

Age
18-28 441 90.4
29-44 32 6.6
45-54 11 2.3
55+ 2 0.4
No response 2 0.4
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Highest Educational Level attained

Less than a high school diploma 7 1.4
High School 258 52.9
Associates Degree 60 12.3
Bachelor’s Degree 136 27.9
Master’s degree 22 4.5
Doctoral degree 3 0.6
No response 2 0.4

Annual Household Income

Less than $24,999 125 25.6
$25,000-$49,999 78 16.0
$50,000-$74,999 71 14.5
$75,000-$99,999 68 13.9
$100,000-$149,999 75 15.4
More than $150,000 54 11.1
No response 17 3.5

Experience Dimensions Outcome Variables

Personal and Pokémon GO usage

Education
Intentions to use
Pokémon GO as a
characteristics

Entertainment travel guide

Escapism
Intentions to use
MAR app as a
Esthetics
travel guide

Figure 2. Proposed Conceptual Framework for Future Studies

(Adapted from Radder & Han, 2015)