Sustainable Tourism in the Era of Immersive Technologies: Creative Strategies for Placemaking and Place Branding

Abstract

The article proposes a critical and interdisciplinary approach that connects emerging technology to territorial regeneration, offering participants new perspectives on sustainable tourism, creativity, and belonging. It is especially relevant for those seeking to understand how cultural and digital practices can transform tourist destinations into spaces of innovation and resilience. The objective of this study is to examine the manner in which emerging technologies – namely, augmented reality (AR) and the metaverse are being utilized in a creative manner within the context of sustainable tourism. This analysis will elucidate the concepts of creative placemaking and place branding. The integration of these references contributes to the field of tourism by demonstrating the potential for emerging technologies to function as strategic, symbolic, and educational tools in the promotion of sustainable tourism. The method employed is a multiple case study (Yin, 2018), analysing four tourist destinations that use emerging technologies. The primary research question pertains to the application of these emerging technologies in the context of sustainable tourism, with a particular focus on the concepts of creative placemaking and place branding. The utilization of augmented reality (AR) in diverse contexts transpires within digital layers, thereby unveiling environmental and symbolic data concerning the destination. This phenomenon extends the conceptual scope of placemaking, which is traditionally understood as a tool for territorial awareness and activation. The proposal’s distinguishing characteristic is its interdisciplinary and critical approach, which has the potential to broaden the existing discourse beyond the confines of technological innovation. By repositioning tourism as a cultural practice dedicated to ensuring resilient futures and the collaborative creation of tourist destinations, the proposal offers a novel perspective on the subject. The integration of emerging technologies in sustainable tourism signifies an opportunity to redefine the tourist experience, although it concomitantly poses challenges in its implementation. However, when combined with approaches such as creative placemaking and place branding, these technologies transform tourist destinations into spaces for learning, belonging, and regeneration, thereby promoting sustainable tourism practices. The cases examined demonstrate that creativity is as critical as technological innovation. Collectively, these factors possess the capacity to transform the future of tourism.