Thematic Session 4

THEMATIC SESSION #4

Alessandra Marasco

National Research Council of Italy - Institute for Heritage Science (CNR-ISPC)

• alessandra.marasco@cnr.it

Alfonsina Pagano

National Research Council of Italy - Institute for Heritage Science (CNR-ISPC)

• alfonsina.pagano@cnr.it

Ryan Yung

University of Greenwich

• r.yung@greenwich.ac.uk

Cultural tourism is profoundly transformed by the potential of eXtended Reality (XR) whose applications facilitate access to digital cultural contents, enhance visitors’ experiences thorough interactivity and sensory immersion while promoting engagement with cultural destinations blending together the physical and digital environments. Within the contemporary, growing emphasis on sustainable tourism development, the role of XR for cultural tourism sustainability represents an important area of interdisciplinary research. Sustainable cultural tourism is “the integrated management of cultural heritage and tourism activities in conjunction with the local community, creating social, environmental and economic benefits for all stakeholders in order to achieve tangible and intangible cultural heritage conservation and sustainable tourism development” (European Commission, 2019). XR applications can support sustainable cultural tourism by facilitating sustainable access to cultural sites (e.g., overcoming accessibility & inclusivity barriers, providing integrated tourism experiences and proposing alternative routes), preservation and authentic interpretation of fragile tangible and intangible cultural heritage, affordance in communication and marketing to address challenges relating to information access, overcrowding, massification, loss of authenticity, preservation of cultural resources at risk and promotion of sustainable visitors’ behaviors.

This thematic session explores onsite/offsite/hybrid XR applications that promote sustainable cultural tourism by providing innovative, user-centered as well as challenging ways to support the tourist fruition of Heritage science assets. We invite the research community to submit contributions presenting theoretical and empirical research addressing user experience design, design for all, XR solutions and case studies, storytelling and interpretation, behavior change, impact assessment, critical futures thinking, and emerging trends concerning the implications and applications of XR for cultural tourism sustainability.

Alessandra Marasco is senior researcher at the National Research Council of Italy - Institute for Heritage Science (CNR-ISPC), in Naples. Her research focuses on innovation management in cultural and creative services and tourism. Her research interests include the impact of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality on cultural tourism experiences, an area in which she coordinated CNR research units in projects funded at regional and national levels. She served as co-editor of the XXV (2020-2022) and the XXVI (2022-2023) issues of the Report on Italian Tourism, edited by CNR. Her research was published in leading journals, conference proceedings and books, including the Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Umanistica Digitale, Cities, ENTER eTourism Conference, Emerald Bridging Tourism Theory and Practice Series.

Alfonsina Pagano is currently a Research Technologist at the Italian National Research Council, Institute of Heritage Science, in Naples working as User Experience Researcher.
She graduated at the Naples's University, Suor Orsola Benincasa, for a second Master Degree in Public Communication; she received her former Master Degree in Technology-enhanced Communication for Cultural Heritage and her Bachelor Degree in Communication and Management of Art Markets, in 2012 and 2008, respectively, from I.U.L.M. of Milan (ITALY) and U.S.I. of Lugano (SWITZERLAND).
She participates in social media events and she is member of the Interaction Design Foundation since 2013. Her publications relates to research activities in Design and User studies, Human-Computer Interaction and Pedagogy supporting cultural contexts. She also works as lecturer for italian universities, secondary schools and professional courses.

Ryan Yung currently serves as deputy director of the Tourism and Marketing Research Centre and academic portfolio lead of advertising and communications at the University of Greenwich. He graduated with a PhD from Griffith University and has since continued working on research expertise in extended realities and digital innovation in the experience economy; areas in which he is an award-winning published author of multiple high-impact journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, and industry panels. Ryan has also worked with commercial and professional bodies such as Queensland's Department of Innovation, Queensland Tourism Industry Council, Destination Gold Coast, Flyover Zone, Digital Frontier, Chilston Park Hotels, Visit Kent, and Accenture Song on technological innovation focused projects.