Tourist sites walk tech tightrope

Tourist attractions have gained an expanding digital toolkit for making visitors feel part of the story.

Projections can transform walls. QR codes can unlock information on demand. Soundscapes recreate places and periods that no longer exist. Touch, scent and even taste can be layered onto an experience to make a physical destination feel more immersive.

But adding another sensory effect may eventually make the technology harder to ignore than the attraction itself.

New research from the University of Surrey suggests digitally enhanced tourist attractions can reach a point where more stimulation stops improving the visitor experience. The important factor is not how many senses an attraction activates, but how effectively the different elements work together.

The findings are detailed in an open-access Journal of Travel Research article, Sensory Synergy in Phygital Tourism: Unpacking the Role of Multi-Sensory Stimulation in Visitor Engagement and Behavior.

The researchers describe these combinations of digital and physical experiences as “phygital tourism”. The study examines how emotional appeal and the practical qualities of technology influence visitor engagement, satisfaction and the intention to visit an attraction.

Testing the senses

Rather than simply asking travellers whether they liked immersive technology, the researchers varied the amount of sensory stimulation.

A group of 413 adults with recent travel experience and experience of, or an interest in, technology took part. Each participant was randomly shown one of six first-person video scenarios based on attractions in Barcelona or Seoul.

The scenarios ranged from experiences using sight and sound to versions combining all five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell and taste. Participants then assessed the experience, level of engagement, satisfaction and likelihood of visiting.

Both the emotional and technological aspects of the experiences were found to contribute to engagement. Greater engagement was also associated with satisfaction and the intention to visit.

The effect was not consistent across every combination of senses, however. More complex sensory environments could strengthen emotional engagement while reducing the importance of practical qualities such as usability and freedom of movement.

In other words, sensory richness alone is not a shortcut to a better attraction.

“Digital features should support the visitor experience, not compete with it,” says Dr Elisa Mameli, lead author of the study and PhD researcher at the University of Surrey. “Our findings suggest that emotional appeal and practical design both matters, but adding every possible sensory effect is not a shortcut to engagement. What matters is whether those elements feel coherent, useful and appropriate to the setting.”

Technology that gets out of the way

The finding presents an unusual challenge for tourism technology. Many of the tools designed to deepen an experience are most effective when visitors stop noticing the tools themselves.

A projection that clarifies the history of a building may add context. A screen demanding repeated interaction can pull attention away from the same building. Sound may add atmosphere, while sound competing with narration, visual effects and other prompts can become another demand on the visitor.

The researchers therefore argue for “sensory synergy”, where different forms of stimulation complement one another instead of competing for attention. In the academic paper, sensory synergy is defined around coordinated and congruent integration rather than simply increasing the number of sensory channels.

Dr Brigitte Stangl, co-author and associate professor at the University of Surrey, says: “We recommend collaboration between technology developers, historians and other specialists so that digital tools, physical surroundings and storytelling reinforce one another. QR codes, projections and other interfaces should fade into the background where possible, allowing visitors to concentrate on the place and its story.

“The best multisensory design is not the loudest or the busiest. Tourism sites should give visitors enough stimulation to feel immersed without overwhelming them. Careful testing, choice and space to decompress can turn technology from a distraction into a meaningful part of the visit.”

That approach could also make digitally enhanced attractions more accessible. The researchers recommend testing sensory combinations before attractions open, adjusting their intensity and considering quieter spaces where visitors can take a break.

Options including subtitles, tactile signs and adjustable lighting could accommodate differing sensory preferences rather than forcing every visitor through the same experience.

A view of a visit, not the visit itself

The research carries an important limitation. Participants did not physically visit the Barcelona and Seoul attractions used to construct the scenarios. They watched first-person videos and evaluated prospective experiences.

The results therefore measure anticipated engagement rather than what tourists actually feel while moving through a multisensory attraction. The researchers acknowledge that distinction, and further work in real-world environments could test whether the same relationships hold when visitors encounter the technology directly.

Even with that limitation, the findings raise a useful question for destinations investing in increasingly elaborate digital experiences. The next technological addition may not be the one that makes an attraction more memorable. Sometimes, the better design decision may be knowing when there is already enough.

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