In the northwest of Ireland, a transnational project blends immersive tech with literary tourism
Tools such as augmented reality and virtual reality promise to offer new experiences for lovers of literature, but also to compensate for the lack of accessibility of certain sites and even to combat overtourism.
40% of European tourists choose a destination for its cultural sites. Europe’s rich cultural heritage has always attracted many tourists from the four corners of the globe. However, it was only in the 1980s that the concept of cultural tourism really emerged. The trend is now growing, combined with a thirst for personalised, authentic experiences, particularly among younger people.
Immersive technologies – such as augmented reality and virtual reality – provide a response to this growing demand. By inviting visitors to immerse themselves in a simulated three-dimensional (3D) environment, they remove the physical barriers to certain destinations or activities, making it possible, for example, to visit remote or forbidden sites, or to practise extreme sports such as bungee jumping.
By offering sustainable alternatives to real visits and increasing tourists’ interest in certain destinations, these technologies can significantly enrich tourism. Their use in this sector is growing, and the global travel technology market is expected to reach a value of around $10.7 billion by 2030 (over €9.6 billion).
“Enabling tourists to better understand what they see”
“Immersive technologies help tourists better understand what they’re seeing. An interactive experience is a deeper experience that helps us remember more clearly what we have in front of us. It’s not just about reading or looking at something; it’s about actually connecting with it,” explained Mary Keaveney, EU Projects Executive at the Western Development Commission (WDC), the lead project partner for the N-LITE project. WDC is a statutory body that promotes social and economic development in the Western Region of Ireland (including the counties of Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Galway and Clare).
When it comes to cultural tourism, immersive technologies are being used to create visual experiences of heritage sites and historic monuments, from the reconstruction of ancient Greek temples to virtual representations of folk tales, and immersive storytelling for exploring history while hiking.
The European project Literary Tourism Immersive Technology Acceleration, abbreviated to N-Lite, is also pursuing this approach. The aim of the programme, in which the WDC is the main partner, is to give new impetus to literary tourism by combining folk traditions, literature and myths with new immersive technologies.
For example, through the use of immersive technologies and gamification, N-Lite will seek to bring to life certain stories from the site of Rathcroghan (Cruachan Aí), the ancient capital of the province of Connacht, from which the festival of Samhain (Halloween) is reputed to have originated. The project also aims to create new experiences around medieval literature.
Business boosted by the pandemic
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement of people became more problematic, leading to discussions of new approaches to tourism. We had to think about how to develop experiences that can be transported to people, and that’s how we came up with immersive technologies. We’re taking a turn now to look into more practical technologies that will be suitable for small companies and that will deepen the experience for people without necessarily having them to come here in person,” clarified Ian Brannigan, Head of Regional Development at the Western Development Commission.
The N-LITE project is not the region’s first transnational initiative on Literary Tourism. It was developed to scale up the outcomes of a former project called “Spot-lit,” which ran from October 2018 until March 2022 and was also funded by the NPA program.
“Everything started in 2015 when we were asked to organise a national commemoration event for the 150th anniversary of the birth of William Butler Yeats. This initiative helped us better understand literary tourism and its significance in regional development. We realised its potential in a small region like ours, not just culturally and societally but also economically. On a budget of 600,000 euros, we engaged over 34 million people, hosted thousands of events, and generated a return of over 10 million euros. This success guided our ongoing commitment to this sector. We understood we needed to make Literary Tourism more accessible and participatory. So, shortly after that, we got together with some like-minded people from other peripheral regions in Europe, regions like ours with a deep tradition of literature and folklore, from the Kalevala in Finland to Yeats and Heaney in Ireland, and developed Spot-lit,” pointed out Ian Brannigan.
As part of Spot-lit, local small businesses in Finland, Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland created travel experiences centred on local literature, authors, and the arts to enrich Literature Tourism in the NPA region. An example is the Lighthouse Project, designed by the Western Development Commission in collaboration with sound and visual artists and theatre makers.
It offered a series of inland walks near lighthouses with a creative twist. During these walks, participants could download and listen to an audio track guiding them through the street art pieces they encountered. Another example is the work carried out by the Kajaani University of Applied Sciences in Finland to develop mobile applications promoting Literary Tourism in the NPA region. The idea was to allow literary tourism businesses to tell the story of their rich literary assets at home and abroad in a more engaging and accessible way.
Coping with overtourism
The tourism sector in Ireland is rapidly growing. In 2023, almost 60% of businesses recorded a higher number of visitors than the previous year, and 44% expected this number to continue to rise in 2024. While economically virtuous, this influx of tourists raises concerns about the need to provide more accessible and affordable tourist accommodation in the country. This is why the N-Lite project is also evaluating how immersive technologies can enhance the overall experience for tourists, without them having to visit a specific location.
“We’re looking at technology like XR and VR that are suitable for small companies. We want to use these types of technologies to recreate experiences. It’s more than just taking a photo or video. For example, when you go to the Céide Fields Neolithic Site, you can now interact with the installation on the spot, but it would be great if you could do the same thing back home. This would help to avoid being overloaded by tourists while maintaining the actual integrity of the product,” told Ian Brannigan.
The immersive experience concepts will be created through capacity-building workshops in person and online across five partner locations: the Faroe Islands, Finland, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. These workshops will consist of different phases, from discussing technologies and regional needs to creating the first draft of the concept. This will lead to the development of region-specific game designs, with each region focusing on a specific literary theme.
In addition to enhancing the overall tourist experience through gamification and VR, immersive technology will also be applied in the context of the N-LITE project to make ancient historical buildings more accessible to everyone.
“If we think about the Thoor Ballylee Castle, where Yeats spent his time when he was living in Galway, it’s a pretty old tower. It has quite a few floors and narrow stairs that go up to the top of the tower. There’s a bit of history on each floor, too. You’ll find information on what he did on each floor while living there. However, regarding accessibility, reaching the top floor is not an option for everyone. So, having an immersive experience on the ground floor would be great. This would mean that visitors wouldn’t have to go all the way up the stairs,” explained Mary Keaveney.
While immersive technology has the potential to enhance the accessibility of remote sites and monuments, reduce unnecessary travel, and benefit the environment, it’s important to acknowledge that people with physical, visual, auditory, and cognitive impairments may encounter obstacles in using immersive technologies like AR/VR. For example, people with visual impairments face entry barriers to engaging with these technologies due to the lack of accessibility aids, such as audio descriptions or haptic feedback. The lack of visual subtitles would make it difficult for people with hearing impairments to enjoy the whole experience of virtual spaces, which usually include music and sounds as part of the entire experience. Finally, the complete immersion in virtual environments and detachment from the physical world could cause stress and symptoms of motion sickness and disorientation in people living with neurodiverse and cognitive impairments.
If we consider that around 27% of the adult population in the EU has some form of disability, it is crucial to take all forms of disability into account when designing experiences relying on immersive technologies like AR and VR. It will be thus interesting to see how N-LITE will integrate the concept of accessibility in the creation of virtual experiences for literary tourism.
Drawing inspiration from youth
“One question that came up in the discussion around N-LITE was ‘Who are we building this for?’ I’m a mother to two early 20s/ late teens. They’re essentially born with a cell phone. They see immersive tech as part of daily life. I had to get on board and say that if we’re going to develop this, it has to be future-proof. We’ve got to look at it in a new way. We have to listen to those who will come after us. We need to consider literary aspects from the perspective of young people, not just the greats from the past,” specified Karan Thompson, Consultant responsible for youth engagement in the project.
To gain a fresh and innovative perspective on Literary Tourism, N-LITE plans to engage young people in the project’s development through a series of workshops. The idea is to collaborate with universities and young creatives to understand their needs and insights on using technology in the sector.
“Basically, we get them involved in ideation by bringing them into the room and saying: this is the project, what we’re thinking about, and what we need to achieve. Then, we actually explore and deepen their ideas. There is a framework that we use for that. So, we use very much a structure around youth engagement and deepening and refining their ideas. Finally, it’s also about the developmental part, as the technicians will also be involved in this conversation at the same time. It’s very much a collective,” clarified Karan Thompson.
To ensure the transferability of knowledge gathered during the project, one of the main outputs will be a digital toolkit guiding businesses in adopting immersive technology in their daily operations. This will also include explanations of terms like XR, VR, immersive and adaptive technology and practical examples of their applications. All the materials will be available in both English and local languages. Additionally, N-LITE will help SMEs to cooperate and innovate in digital marketing and organisational strategies to stay competitive in the Literary Tourism sector.
The project is expected to end around the end of June 2026. Therefore, now it is too soon to analyse the project’s concrete outcomes. However, Ian Brannigan pointed out that, closer to the end of the project, they will organise “a final event, which in itself will talk about Literary Tourism. So by then, we would like to have examples of international Literary Tourism products, and we would like to have experts in literary tourism talk about them. This will also be a real opportunity for people from all different countries and backgrounds involved to come together. I would like to see it led by some young creative influencers who are real ambassadors for literature, tourism, and creativity. We don’t have the exact details yet, but we want to be a creative event.”