Factors influencing urban tourists’ receptivity to ecogamified applications: a study on transports and mobility

Abstract

Purpose

The literature on the factors that enhance ecogamification and the intention to use smart tourism applications is vast and increasing. However, most studies tend to focus on the “user”, rather than the “tourist”, and that gap is the trigger for the present research. The purpose of this paper is to examine how home and travel environmental behaviour, travel motivations, types of entertainment (digital and non-digital) and technology proficiency (professional vs non-professional) influence the receptivity of urban tourists to different game elements in a transport and mobility context.

Design/methodology/approach

The study carried out a qualitative experiment with focus groups, with a total of 16 urban tourists. The software webQDA was used to systematize and categorize data and to analyze the content.

Findings

The results suggest differences and similarities in terms of receptivity of urban tourists to ecogamification, which might have implications for future studies on urban tourists’ typologies and segments and also for providers of ecogamified services, game designers and marketers.

Originality/value

Rather than addressing the game elements per se (which, in this research, are seen as means to an end), the novelty resides in the combination of characteristics that intersect urban tourism (travel motivations), gamification (entertainment preferences and technology proficiency) and sustainability (home–travel environmental behaviour). This intersection provides a lens to interpret tourists’ receptivity and interaction with different game elements (cooperation, reward, points, avatar and ranking).

Citation

Souza, V.S. and Marques, S.R.B.d.V. (2022), "Factors influencing urban tourists’ receptivity to ecogamified applications: a study on transports and mobility", International Journal of Tourism Cities, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 820-843. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-08-2021-0165