• creating thematic tourism opportunities to draw people with a range of interests into and across the regions and encouraging them to extend their stays
NEW REALITIES REPORT The Legatus Group sought to build on their research collaborations with Flinders University and Dr Tully Barnett and contracted Researcher & Creative Producer , Dr Heather Robinson , an Adjunct Research Associate with Flinders University , to investigate the potential of blending mixed reality technologies with the local story telling capacity of regional creatives to produce new or improved visitor experiences in the regions . The potential is rich .
The Legatus Group of councils cover some of South Australia ’ s most beautiful , culturally rich and compelling tourism regions . From unique natural landscapes , Cornish mining heritage and Indigenous traditions to ancient fossil sites , world class wineries and windows on colonial lifestyles , the regions of the Northern and Yorke Region of SA offer a diverse range of experiences to visitors .
This region also supports a burgeoning population of creative industries practitioners and RDA Barossa Light Gawler Adelaide Plains have been extremely active in this sector . Along with tourism , this priority sector is garnering support across Federal and State Government agencies in the wake of economic and social challenges wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic .
These challenges afford the opportunity to consolidate current partnerships to develop a suite of visitor experiences , combining the tourism and creative industries sectors to reinvigorate economic development , employment opportunities and social benefits across regional communities .
James Stewart-Rattray from Desert Dog Productions & Studio launching the Music Video from the Music Hub Project at the UniHub in Port Pirie .
FINDINGS In May 2021 , the report titled “ New Realities : Activating the potential for the creative industries and tourism in regional South Australia ” written by Dr Heather Robinson was launched at the SA Regional Creative Industries Conference . It can be found at :
https :// legatus . sa . gov . au / wpcontent / uploads / 2021 / 05 / New-Realities- Final . pdf
Drawing on a qualitative research approach , this report drew on recent international research examining the potential of engaging digital technologies to create Augmented , Virtual and Mixed Reality ( AR / VR / MR ) visitor experiences and interviews and site visits in the Legatus regions to examine their potential application across the Legatus Group of councils .
The research identified key factors that are essential to the successful and ongoing implementation of AR / VR / MR visitor experiences , namely the importance of :
• involving local voices and perspectives to develop community acceptance and ownership , as well as authentic experiences for visitors
• using reliable and easily accessible platforms and local creative industries practitioners to design , develop and deliver these experiences , to ensure ongoing maintenance , responsive trouble-shooting , and ongoing employment opportunities
• building on existing tourism projects and community partnerships to capitalise on previous investment , reinvigorating the regions to attract previous visitors and encouraging overnight stays
• maximising a mix of technologies to support and complement one another to deliver a complete end-to-end user experience that incorporates interpretation with a marketing ‘ try before you buy ’ approach that leads through to a booking , purchasing , planning and repeat visitation .
This report presents several case studies of comparable local , national and international sites that use AR / VR technologies in natural and cultural heritage tourism sites , to suggest how the technology could be applied both within and across the regions by starting small , proving the model and growing sustainably .
This approach allows for the presentation and discussion of iterative and interactive opportunities that show how one technology could be applied at one site . However , it also provides opportunities for how a mix of compatible technologies centralised within a single framework and portal may also cover numerous attractions , businesses and experiences . That is , the one tool could be adapted to suit many sites : only the stories would change .
This iterative mixed-reality approach also opens the potential to link with a range of partners currently developing similar projects within the regions or regional Australian contexts for both knowledge exchange or direct support , to combine digital platforms and resources with the physical world . This also poses challenges addressing another of the project ’ s aims , which was to identify a lead agency or agencies to take this project forward . The report also included indicative costs to inform future discussions and possible partnership strategies .
The report demonstrates how a mixed reality approach may maximise the cultural , social , tourism and economic benefits sought by the Legatus Group and their partners , traversing boundaries between regions , themes and potential partners , as tourists will do , in the same way as the technologies can potentially merge with the physical world to create an exciting , informative and profitable experience .
VOL 14 NO 2 2021 38 www . edaustralia . com . au