Recognizing the widespread appeal of interactive experiences and a noticeable absence of interactive media in many guided tours worldwide, I became particularly intrigued by the untapped potential in Greece, a historically rich region. Typical guiding tours in Greece often rely on basic media such as sound installations or limited tablet usage, and sometimes even lack any form of interactive media altogether. Consequently, these tours fail to deliver the joyful, exploratory, and playful experiences that travelers seek. Firmly convinced that the key to advancing the heritage tourism industry lies in creating unforgettable moments where visitors can actively immerse themselves in what they are witnessing, I have centered my design proposal around utilizing emerging technologies as invaluable allies. Augmented Reality, mixed reality elements, and interactivity form the very essence of my vision.

Another critical issue prevailing in guiding tours is that once the participants' experience concludes, they are left with mere photos or amateur videos as mementos. Contemplating this challenge, I was reminded of a quote from design.google.com:

"Digital natives don't want to be told a story, they want to play a part in it."

Realizing this, I understood that young people, in particular, crave not only interactions but also the opportunity to be the protagonists of their own experiences. Thus, I firmly believe that every interactive encounter must offer participants a lasting memory to be shared and cherished, allowing them to relive the experience at any time.

In essence, my project aims to harness the power of emerging technologies and design a guided tour application that combines fun, edutainment, and the provision of a commemorative video capturing the essence of the experience. By doing so, I aspire to revolutionize the realm of guided tours and grant travelers a profound and multifaceted encounter with the past, deeply ingrained in their memories.

While I realised that people love interactive experiences, I also noticed that there is an absence in the use of interactive media on many guiding tours around the world. Especially in Greece, a very historic part of the world, guiding tours include: either basic media like sound installations or tablet use (where tour guides show pictures of how a place used to be in the old times) or might not at all use some kind of media. This absence of interactive media results in guiding tours that lacks joyful, exploring or even playful experiences. I strongly believe that the key element in the rising of heritage tourism industry is to provide travellers with unforgettable experiences where they can “live” what they are actually watching using emerging technology as an ally. Augmented Reality, mixed reality elements and interactivity are the synthetic core of my design proposal.

Another considerable absence or problem in guiding tours is that there is nothing left after participants experience is over except some photos or small amateur videos during the route. While I was thinking about this challenge I remembered this phrase from design.google.com

“Digital natives don’t want to be told a story, they want to play a part in it”

That’s the solution for my problem I said, young people need interactions but also they want to star in their experience. So, I strongly believe that in every interactive experience we also need to provide the participants with a memory that can be shared so they may revive it at any time later.

In conclusion, one of my project’s main goals is to take the advantage of emerging technologies and design a guiding application that will provide fun, edutainment and provide a video “commemorative” of the experience.