Gamification for tourism marketing and travelers motivations
Efstathios Marios Papakonstantinou
The emergence of digital marketing technologies and the change in social culture have revolutionized marketing in the travel and hotel sector. More opportunities for marketing innovations have recently arisen with the introduction of new technology including smartphones, artificial intelligence, virtual reality (VR), robotics, and new GIS. Information technology breakthroughs have altered managerial attitudes, service standards, and corporate procedures. In recent years, certain creative tourist industries have adopted gaming as a cutting-edge idea to connect guests more deeply and as a marketing tool. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the gamification trend and its possibilities for experience creation and travel advertising. This paper examines the relationship between gaming and tourism and what motivates travelers to play games using focus groups. The findings imply that there are multiple factors influencing tourists' interest to play games. Purposive information seeking is typically the first step taken by players before transitioning to intrinsic stimulation. Another crucial aspect is socialization. The paper shows a number of marketing implications for travel.
Efstathios Marios Papakonstantinou. Gamification for tourism marketing and travelers motivations. Int J Tourism Hotel Manage 2025;7(1):01-07. DOI: 10.22271/27069583.2025.v7.i1a.116