Marketing i Menedžment Innovacij (Dec 2016)
Innovations in tourism marketing: Operation Anthropoid in Prague
Abstract
The aim of this article. Nowadays, when a plethora of innovations found its way into the field of tourism marketing, the impact of the new technologies is likely to change the way international tourism will develop in the forthcoming decades. A very cheap but effective way how to innovate the traditional tourism marketing approach in cultural tourism destinations might be through game-like appsmartphone and tablet apps based in a cultural destination that would involve local stories, myths and legends and blend them with popular culture, represented by literary works and films. This paper explores the potential of the geolocation game app based on the events of “Operation Anthropoid” that took place in Prague in 1942. Our results demonstrate that geolocation games constitute very successful examples of innovations in tourism marketing that profit from novel technologies. The results of the analysis. The paper clearly shows how innovations featuring modern ICT technologies might be employed in modern tourism marketing. It demonstrates how the in-depth focus groups can be used to assess residents and tourists’ preferences for a tourism smartphone and tablet app that would enhance access to intangible cultural heritage in Prague using the WWII story of bravery and heroism. Overall, we find that the tourism potential of Operation Anthropoid story in Prague remains largely unused. The majority of the visitors visiting the National Memorial to the Heroes of the Heydrich Terror (the crypt of the Cyril and Method Church where the final battle between the SOE parachutists and Gestapo took place) are from abroad. Our survey held in March 2015 with the visitors of the Memorial confirmed these findings and revealed most of the visitors come from United Kingdom, France, United States, Australia, and the Netherlands. The majority of these people stated that they learned about the story of Operation Anthropoid from the British 1975 war film “Operation Daybreak” or from the book “HHhH” by the French writer and historian Laurent Binet. Moreover, our results show that the potential smartphone and tablet app should contain an opening introductory video about the Operation Anthropoid, an interactive map, facts & details augmented reality photos, a quest with a possibility to collect points or play against other users, as well as the information on the Prague transportation and the possibility to buy tickets online. The app should be offered free of charge, as a so-called “light version” with a possibility to buy the full version, or should be offered for free download at App Store or Google Market with an option to send a donation to its creators. Conclusions and directions for further research. Our results might lead to the successful creation and implementation of the geolocation game which became very popular recently due to the breath-taking success of the “Pokemon Go” game worldwide. As for the pathways for further research, an analysis of attributes and other features of potential app might be also tested using a conjoint analysis approach or revealed preferences techniques. Some more research can be done on eliciting the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the potential app-like game.
