Combining the technology acceptance model and uses and gratifications theory to examine the usage behavior of an augmented reality tour-sharing application

An intelligent tour service system including an augmented reality (AR) tour-sharing Application (APP) and a query-answering server was developed in this study to promote tourist attractions involving local Hakka culture in Thailand. Subsequently, use of this APP to navigate Hakka culture tourist attractions in Thailand was observed. The novel random neural networks (RNNs) were proposed to obtain query-answering services, and the practical experimental results showed that the accuracy of RNNs was 99.51%. This study also integrated the Technology Acceptance Model with Uses and Gratifications Theory to predict the gratification, usage intention, and user attitudes toward marketed attractions of the AR tour-sharing APP. A questionnaire survey was conducted, and 446 valid questionnaires were returned. The following results were obtained: (a) self-presentation and perceived usefulness (PU) directly influenced gratification; (b) perceived entertainment indirectly influenced gratification through perceived ease of use and PU, and information sharing indirectly influenced gratification through PU; and (c) gratification was significantly and positively related to usage intention and attitude toward attractions. Based on these results, suggestions that new technology marketing can be used to promote causes other than Hakka tourist attractions established in Thailand can be contrived. For example, the tour-sharing APP developed in this study could be applied to emphasize the characteristics of Thai Hakka culture; users' fondness for self-presentation and information sharing can be used for word-of-mouth marketing to attract additional visitors. In addition, this research provides a reference for enterprises and marketers regarding the use of AR tour-sharing APPs to market tourist attractions, and also for future related studies.