Generation of Gamified Mobile Experiences by DMOs

Gamification, which uses game design elements in non-game contexts, has already proved to be successful in different domains. Within the tourism industry it offers several benefits to DMOs, such as encouraging engagement, enhancing experiences, improving loyalty, or increasing brand awareness of tourists. However, examples of DMOs applying gamification for the on-site phase of the trip and validation of its impact on destinations are still lacking. This could be caused due to the scarcity of tools to generate gamified mobile experiences. This paper focuses on these issues presenting hypotheses about the capacity of DMOs to generate these experiences; and the benefits of these experiences for DMOs. To validate these hypotheses, staff from three DMOs have generated gamified mobile experiences with an authoring tool designed and developed to target their needs and technological knowledge level.