Mobile Eyetracking of Museum Learning Experiences

Eyetracking research has gained traction in a wide range of contexts and finds increasing application in the travel and tourism domain. Whilst there exists some empirical evidence of eyetracking in tourism, most research to date is restricted to lab environments and desktop computers, or occurs on a small scale. This paper presents a first large-scale mobile eyetracking study through a multiple-stage research design that focuses on the visitor's interactive learning experience in a real-life museum context. Based on an emic visitor perspective, the findings unlock insights into a range of factors that shape the physical context of the museum learning experience. This study makes a theoretical contribution and offers methodological advances to eyetracking research and museum interactive learning experiences. Strategic implications for research and practical recommendations for experience design in a museum are offered.