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Abstract
The need for preservation and flexible exploration of historical artifacts generated increasing interest in using digital technologies in the cultural heritage context. This paper presents user interaction applications of a recent digital cultural heritage conservation and exploration project concerning one of the most famous heritage site “Göbeklitepe” in Turkey that is the oldest known human-made religious structure and added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List by the year 2018 is 15 km away of northeast of the town Şanlıurfa. The project aims at enriching the visitor experience through modern digital technologies. Main modules include 3D scanning of the artifacts, information screen and mobile interaction with Augmented Reality (AR). AR has been developed to provide information about destinations and attractions. Because of the development of AR, tourists using AR can gain valuable experience without a tourist guide. There two aims of this study: 1) is to describe acceptance of a new technology such as AR and visiting intention for visitors who use AR at a heritage destination, 2) to measure tourists’ experiences of visiting historic sites. For this purpose, two scales were used for data collection. In accordance with the first aim of the study, the scale adapted by Chung, Han & Joun (2015) which is to explain visitors’ acceptance of AR based on the TAM. Secondly, Lee & Smith’s (2015) multiple-item scale was used to measure tourists’ experiences of visiting historic sites and museums. There are three dimensions in the first scale as perceived usefulness (5 items), perceived ease of use (3 items) and visit intention (2 items) visit intention (2 items) in accordance with the purpose of the study. On the other hand, the second scale involves natively 16 items under six dimensions. The findings offer important practical implications for historic sites and museums in relation to AR and experiential marketing. The findings show that the Augmented Reality applications have an important practical usefulness for the Göbeklitepe archeological site and particularly enriching of the visitor experience. The study shows that the AR applications impact on the visit intention of the visitors. The study is revealed that applications can be applied to enhance the attractiveness of the archeological sites, as Göbeklitepe, in many destinations.