Niantic, Inc. is partnering with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to enhance global tourism through the use of Niantic’s real-world games. As the leaders in mobile augmented reality (AR) experiences and creators of Pokémon GO and Ingress Prime, Niantic will be curating unique campaigns to foster exploration and build awareness of destinations around the world. This initiative is in collaboration with the UNWTO Travel.Enjoy.Respect program, which formally launched in August of this year.
“Our goal at Niantic is to create interactive games that encourage exercise, social interaction and exploration, giving players the opportunity to play together in the real world and discover the incredible history hidden right in their own neighborhoods,” said Anne Beuttenmüller, Head of Marketing EMEA “We’re looking forward to creating brand new adventures for our players in collaboration with UNWTO to increase awareness around their mission of responsible tourism.”
Niantic and UNWTO will work together to create a variety of different ways to combine tourism and AR technology for players to engage with real-world locations using Niantic’s mobile games. Each activation will be built to inspire and support exploration, build awareness around UNWTO’s Travel.Enjoy.Respect campaign, and promote good practices to play games safely and responsibly.
“With our ongoing commitment to promote sustainable and responsible tourism, and Niantic having recently become a UNWTO Affiliate Member, this partnership is a natural fit ,” said Ion Vilcu, Director of UNWTO’s Affiliate Members Department. “Niantic are pioneers in creating real-world mobile game experiences that not only motivate their players to discover new places, but also to appreciate the culture and beauty of the world around them,” he added.
Niantic’s real-world games and recent global initiatives have brought millions of players from around the world together at real-world events that promote civic engagement and cultural diversity while highlighting public art and local history.
Additional details for collaborative events between Niantic and UNWTO’s will be shared in the future at www.nianticlabs.com/blog
