From ‘Consuming’ to ‘Earning’ a Destination – a gamification project

From ‘consuming’ to ‘earning’ a destination is a gamification project developed by USI’s UNESCO Chair and eLab in collaboration with World Heritage Switzerland (WHES) and the support of the Innotour program of SECO.

It uses gamification to deepen visitors’ engagement with Swiss World Heritage Sites, ensuring a deeper understanding of their Outstanding Universal Value and a more responsible and sustainable behavior. Nine Swiss World Heritage Sites are involved in the creation of its content.

The idea for the project comes from a focus on Cultural Sustainability, acknowledging that a shift in mindset is needed: destinations should not only be visited and ‘consumed’ but also deeply understood from a cultural level, both in their tangible and intangible forms. The higher the level of understanding, the deeper the levels of care there will be. The purposes of the project are well connected to Switzerland Tourism recent campaign – Travel with Care. Leave with Memories. The campaign fosters awareness on the importance of good and responsible behavior while travelling. The key idea is that the more visitors care about the place they are visiting, the more they will want to act responsibly and sustainably. This can also be achieved by experiencing the local culture in an authentic way, consuming regional products, staying longer and delving deeper.

The gamified app will make players feel not only closer to the hosting destination, but closer to its heritage, history, and community. This will be achieved through engaging and educational content, that will combine play with learning, enriching the overall tourism experience. In doing so, it reframes the visitor not as a passive consumer of a place, but as an active participant in its future.