Bringing dinosaurs into the 2020s: Considering current visitation and future virtual tourism possibilities for the Tumbler Ridge Museum and the Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark (BC)

Designed in collaboration with the Tumbler Ridge Museum and the UNESCO Tumbler Ridge Geopark, I adopted a mixed-methods approach in designing this project. My research examines potential virtual tourism inclusions for the Geopark and the Museum, and considers how these technologies can be used to enhance visitor experiences and accessibility. Core project components are a literature review of virtual tourism technologies and possibilities represented in the academic literature, and empirical data that I gathered via a visitor survey and on-site observations in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada (summer 2022). My literature review found inconsistencies in virtual tourism terminology. As a result, I am proposing a new umbrella term, “virtual tourism experiences (VTEs),” to encourage clarity and ease of access to this topic. VTEs include technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), 360° photo view, live streaming, and webcam-travel. All of these can be used to invite people to connect with remote places and/or on-site experiences. VTEs can be employed engage people during different stages of a user/visitor journey: pre-trip, during-trip, and post-trip. To clarify potential types and uses with respect to trip stages, I am also forwarding a modified conceptual model. It illustrates how various types of VTEs can be employed throughout the user/visitor journey. The Tumbler Ridge visitor survey data that I collected and analyzed generally fits with prior visitor data, but also provides new insights into stays and activities. It also raises some key concerns and contrasting opinions about VTEs—some participants perceived VTEs as potential helpful supplements to physical trips. Others raised concerns about VTEs as threats to nature-based authenticity. My thesis closes with resulting tailored VTE recommendations for the Tumbler Ridge Museum and Tumbler Ridge UNESCO Global Geopark.