Tracking tourists in a gamification process: a theoretical approach

Abstract

This article proposes a theoretical approach to the use of new technologies to track tourists: a smartphone application based on GPS devices associated to a gamification process. Designed to encourage tourists to share their time and space behaviour during their stay, it allows to collect information related with the tourist movements, like territoriality, movement patterns, orientation and locomotion. As the multi-attraction visit is very common while visiting a urban destination during the multi-destination trips, it will provide a set of data related to the visit intensity and the visit specificity. Based on GPS devices, the association with other advanced technology, has advantages such as GIS, Google Earth or others, is very accurate in urban areas due to high coverage, and it is not very intrusive. Despite being limited to smartphone battery life it was designed to track them without an internet connection and to send data automatically to the “cloud” as soon as a wireless connection is found. One of the most innovative methods is the possibility to track tourists not for only one day but for all the entire stay without being intrusive, contributing to a deeper understanding of tourist’s space and time behaviour. It provides, simultaneously a much more appealing and profitable visit to the tourist.