Digital-marketing Methods with Consideration for the Properties of Open-air Museums: A Feasibility Study in Japan

In recent years, the business conditions of open-air museums in Japan have grown increasingly severe due to decreasing numbers of visitors and budgetary constraints on the local governments that operate them, in addition to the costs of maintenance and management of their vast sites and buildings. For this reason, a movement has been reported nationwide toward increasing numbers of visitors through making these facilities more attractive as tourism resources, by focusing on accessibly and hospitality, as well as strengthening ties to local communities. While enhancement of museum marketing activities can be considered to be one important method for overcoming these challenges faced by open-air museums, discussions have not yet reached the level of marketing as broadly defined, through creation of value based on the distinctive properties of open-air museums. This study describes feasibility studies of two open-air museums in Japan, with the aim of developing digital-marketing methods reflecting the distinguishing features of open-air museums. It was conducted through action research approach intended to learn about problem-solving in the field while researchers take part in field activities. Efforts were made to apply two digital technologies based on the two touchpoints of collecting information before visitors come to the museum and touring the site, reflecting the distinctive properties of open-air museums' vast sites and large numbers of visitors. For the former, we adopted a chatbot in promotional activities to respond to inquiries. For the latter, we developed a tour support application software with consideration for the physical burden on visitors, using wearable devices. While it was unable to integrate both of these systems together in a single system, through implementing each of these we were able to elucidate the effects expected of these as digital marketing tools at actual open-air museums and both technical and operational challenges in utilizing them.