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Exploring Gamification Techniques and Applications for Sustainable Tourism

Author

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  • Adina Letiţia Negruşa

    (Department of Hospitality Services, Faculty of Business, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 7 Horea Street, 400174 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Valentin Toader

    (Department of Hospitality Services, Faculty of Business, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 7 Horea Street, 400174 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Aurelian Sofică

    (Department of Hospitality Services, Faculty of Business, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 7 Horea Street, 400174 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Mihaela Filofteia Tutunea

    (Department of Hospitality Services, Faculty of Business, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 7 Horea Street, 400174 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Rozalia Veronica Rus

    (Department of Hospitality Services, Faculty of Business, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 7 Horea Street, 400174 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

Tourism is perceived as an appropriate solution for pursuing sustainable economic growth due to its main characteristics. In the context of sustainable tourism, gamification can act as an interface between tourists (clients), organisations (companies, NGOs, public institutions) and community, an interface built in a responsible and ethical way. The main objective of this study is to identify gamification techniques and applications used by organisations in the hospitality and tourism industry to improve their sustainable activities. The first part of the paper examines the relationship between gamification and sustainability, highlighting the links between these two concepts. The second part identifies success stories of gamification applied in hospitality and tourism and reviews gamification benefits by analysing the relationship between tourism organisations and three main tourism stakeholders: tourists, tourism employees and local community. The analysis is made in connection with the main pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. This study is positioning the role of gamification in the tourism and hospitality industry and further, into the larger context of sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Adina Letiţia Negruşa & Valentin Toader & Aurelian Sofică & Mihaela Filofteia Tutunea & Rozalia Veronica Rus, 2015. "Exploring Gamification Techniques and Applications for Sustainable Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-30, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:8:p:11160-11189:d:54244
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    Cited by:

    1. David Zejda & Josef Zelenka, 2019. "The Concept of Comprehensive Tracking Software to Support Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-18, July.
    2. Byeong Cheol Lee, 2019. "The Effect of Gamification on Psychological and Behavioral Outcomes: Implications for Cruise Tourism Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Moro, Sérgio & Ramos, Pedro & Esmerado, Joaquim & Jalali, Seyed Mohammad Jafar, 2019. "Can we trace back hotel online reviews’ characteristics using gamification features?," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 88-95.
    4. Axel Jacob & Frank Teuteberg, 2020. "Towards a Taxonomy for Design Options of Social Networking Technologies in Sustainable Business Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Xu, Feifei & Buhalis, Dimitrios & Weber, Jessika, 2017. "Serious games and the gamification of tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 244-256.
    6. Angel Torres-Toukoumidis & Diego Vintimilla León & Andrea De-Santis & Paulo Carlos López-López, 2022. "Gamification in Ecology-Oriented Mobile Applications—Typologies and Purposes," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-12, March.
    7. Mingyu Zhao & Jianguo Liu, 2021. "Study on Spatial Structure Characteristics of the Tourism and Leisure Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-14, November.
    8. Marco Haid & Julia N. Albrecht, 2021. "Sustainable Tourism Product Development: An Application of Product Design Concepts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-16, July.
    9. Pedro Costa & Helena Rodrigues, 2024. "The ever-changing business of e-commerce-net benefits while designing a new platform for small companies," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(9), pages 2507-2545, September.
    10. Behl, Abhishek & Jayawardena, Nirma & Pereira, Vijay & Islam, Nazrul & Giudice, Manlio Del & Choudrie, Jyoti, 2022. "Gamification and e-learning for young learners: A systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis, and future research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    11. repec:rnp:ppaper:dok3 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Aguiar-Castillo Lidia & Rufo-Torres Julio & De Saa-Pérez Petra & Perez-Jimenez Rafael, 2018. "How to Encourage Recycling Behaviour? The Case of WasteApp: A Gamified Mobile Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-20, May.
    13. Hsi-Peng Lu & Hui-Chen Ho, 2020. "Exploring the Impact of Gamification on Users’ Engagement for Sustainable Development: A Case Study in Brand Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    14. Marcucci, Edoardo & Gatta, Valerio & Le Pira, Michela, 2018. "Gamification design to foster stakeholder engagement and behavior change: An application to urban freight transport," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 119-132.
    15. Inessa Tyan & Mariemma I. Yagüe & Antonio Guevara-Plaza, 2020. "Blockchain Technology for Smart Tourism Destinations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-11, November.
    16. Anuj Kumar & T. Sowdamini & Sanjay Manocha & Purvi Pujari, 2021. "Gamification as a Sustainable Tool for HR Managers," Acta Universitatis Bohemiae Meridionalis, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Faculty of Economics, vol. 24(2), pages 1-14.
    17. Athina G. Bright & Stavros T. Ponis, 2021. "Introducing Gamification in the AR-Enhanced Order Picking Process: A Proposed Approach," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-16, March.
    18. Swacha Jakub & Ittermann Robert, 2017. "Enhancing the tourist attraction visiting process with gamification: key concepts," Engineering Management in Production and Services, Sciendo, vol. 9(4), pages 59-66, December.
    19. Maria Giovina Pasca & Roberta Guglielmetti Mugion & Laura Di Pietro & Maria Francesca Renzi, 2025. "Unveiling the role of gamification in shared mobility services," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(6), pages 13371-13410, June.
    20. Adrian-Liviu Scutariu & Carmen Nastase & Mihai Popescu, 2016. "Perspectives of Sustainable Development of Tourism in the North-East Region of Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, December.
    21. Sharma, Wamika & Lim, Weng Marc & Kumar, Satish & Verma, Aastha & Kumra, Rajeev, 2024. "Game on! A state-of-the-art overview of doing business with gamification," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    22. Changsok Yoo & Shinhye Kwon & Hyunsoo Na & Byenghee Chang, 2017. "Factors Affecting the Adoption of Gamified Smart Tourism Applications: An Integrative Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-21, November.
    23. Agustín Álvarez-Herranz & Edith Macedo-Ruíz, 2021. "An Evaluation of the Three Pillars of Sustainability in Cities with High Airbnb Presence: A Case Study of the City of Madrid," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-35, March.
    24. Ana Slavec & Nežka Sajinčič & Vesna Starman, 2021. "Use of Smartphone Cameras and Other Applications While Traveling to Sustain Outdoor Cultural Heritage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-20, June.
    25. Jakub Swacha, 2015. "Gamification In Knowledge Management: Motivating For Knowledge Sharing," Polish Journal of Management Studies, Czestochowa Technical University, Department of Management, vol. 12(2), pages 150-160, December.

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