The convergence of augmented reality (AR) technology with location-based storytelling represents a pivotal moment in destination experience design, yet the tourism industry's approach to implementation remains fragmented. Michael Guerin (Imvizar), Tom Schofield (Newcastle University) and Frank Styles (Aucto Visio) examined how destinations can move beyond experimental AR deployments toward intricate spatial computing frameworks that enhance visitor experiences.

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Using AR for Storytelling

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Newcastle University’s Magical Reality project, an AR app that transforms the Ouseburn Valley into an interactive literary landscape, used compass-guided navigation to reach strategically placed virtual objects, which were derived from author David Almond's archival notes and sketches. The project centred on the conceptual alignment between magical realist literature and AR experiences, both of which weave fantastical elements through everyday environments. Rather than imposing corporate narratives onto public space, Magical Reality prioritised children's perspectives on spatial engagement, creating experiences that feel connected to David Almond's literary source material while responding to its users' intuitive understanding of how technology and literary magic might coexist.

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At the same time, the growing popularity of AR raises fundamental questions about who controls spatial narratives within destinations. As Tom explained, the regulatory vacuum surrounding digital interventions in public spaces creates unprecedented opportunities and challenges for artistic expression. For example, Jeff Koons's 2017 Snapchat collaboration, which placed a three-storey AR balloon dog sculpture in Central Park, sparked immediate controversy about aesthetic impositions in shared civic spaces. Within 24 hours, artist Sebastian Errazuriz substituted Koons's pristine balloon dog with a graffitied version, exploiting the same regulatory absence that enabled the original installation. This artistic dialogue exemplifies the Wild West nature of digital public space. Diego Trujillo Pisanty's more complex intervention further demonstrates these regulatory gaps. His illicit 3D scanning of pre-Columbian artefacts in Mexican museums, followed by their redistribution through AR experiences and NFT sales, exploited intellectual property ambiguities surrounding digital scans of objects.

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Moving Beyond Technological Gimmicks

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Michael's articulation of the "quality imperative" in AR experience design and his assertion that "what you don't want is people leaving and talking about the technology" represents a fundamental shift in how destinations should evaluate AR implementation. Rather than measuring success through technological originality, destinations must prioritise emotional connection and narrative immersion as primary metrics.

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This quality imperative becomes particularly evident when examining Imvizar's Dublin Hexahedron project, which transformed an entire city block into a canvas for spatial storytelling, demonstrating how location-based AR can transform abstract artistic concepts into tangible, place-specific narratives that enhance the physical environment. The experience's success stemmed from its precise environmental integration, with digital objects that bounced off buildings, responded to architectural features and maintained spatial coherence throughout the 90-second narrative. This level of environmental accuracy demands significant technical investment, yet a successful payoff in terms of visitor satisfaction requires that the experience feels natural and believable.

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The strategic implications of this quality focus are profound. Destinations implementing substandard AR experiences risk undermining visitor confidence in their digital innovation capabilities more broadly. Conversely, destinations that invest in high-quality spatial storytelling create distinctive competitive advantages that cannot be easily replicated through conventional marketing approaches.

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Democratising Spatial Storytelling

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The democratisation of AR creation tools represents perhaps the most significant strategic opportunity for destinations seeking to scale location-based experiences beyond flagship installations. Frank's embrace of Snapchat's Lens Studio exemplifies how non-technical creators can develop elaborate AR content when provided with convenient and popular platforms. His origami monkey mural, which transforms a static wall painting into an interactive experience complete with spatial audio and gestural recognition, demonstrates that compelling AR experiences can easily emerge from creative vision.

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The emergence of no-code AR creation tools enables destinations to move beyond vendor dependency toward internal capability development. Rather than commissioning external agencies to create isolated AR experiences, destinations can develop internal expertise and collaborative frameworks that enable ongoing innovation in spatial storytelling. This shift from project-based to platform-based thinking represents a fundamental evolution in how destinations should approach digital experience development.

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Michael's development of a "Canva for AR" through Imvizar's Lureo platform represents a strategic bet that the future of location-based AR lies in distributed authoring frameworks that enable multiple stakeholders to contribute to spatial storytelling ecosystems. The technical implications of this democratisation are complex. While simplified creation tools reduce barriers to entry, they also constrain the sophistication of possible experiences. This technical constraint forces destinations to choose between accessibility, immediacy and quality.

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Platform Selection

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The distinction between WebXR and native app capabilities highlights fundamental trade-offs that shape implementation decisions. WebXR's advantages — instant access without app downloads, broad device compatibility and social sharing optimisation — come at the cost of reduced visual quality, limited file sizes and connectivity dependencies. On the other hand, Michael's pragmatic observation that the usage of native apps for AR experiences parallels audio guide consumption at attractions effectively neutralises concerns about single-use downloads. This reality highlights the need for strategic thinking about content distribution and experience design alongside contextually appropriate justifications of what constitutes successful usage patterns.

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Destinations must navigate this tension by developing content strategies that leverage introductory or advanced platforms based on intended objectives. Quick-deployment WebXR experiences can serve as gateway interactions for sub-ten-second social sharing moments that build visitor confidence and engagement, while more cutting-edge app-based experiences provide deeper, more memorable encounters for visitors willing to invest additional effort in 60-90 second storytelling experiences.