In the campaign "The trip to meet us", three travelers of different profiles visit the main tourist sites in Castilla y León while their brain activity is measured. To do this, they used a cap with 2,048 microsensors and a subjective camera, which collects their brain activity in real time when visiting each tourist spot. Thanks to this project it was possible to show that the stimuli that generate the greatest positive emotional activation are those that are unknown and most surprising.
The Junta de Castilla y León has promoted an innovative neuromarketing project, called "The trip to meet us" (elviajeparaconocernos.com), to claim the attractiveness of the wide range of experiences that all types of tourists can live in Castilla y León, something that makes this tourist destination unique.
In this project, devised by the creative agency VCCP Spain, the brain activity of three tourists of different profiles was measured for the first time in real time while visiting the main tourist enclaves of the 9 provinces of Castilla y León.
For this, an innovative cap was used that incorporates a front camera and an invisible mesh with 2,048 microsensors that collected the brain activity of tourists for four days, transforming it into data.
Thanks to this technology, unique in the world, more than 48 hours of brain activity were analyzed, which has served to know the emotions that each tourist enclave aroused in each type of traveler, being able to know what it was that most attracted attention to each tourist and what were their true emotions during the trip.
This campaign was starred by the chef, Fabián León (@Fabianmasterchef), the traveler Sara Caballero (@lamochiladesara) and the adventurer David Castelló Fernández (@OceanLifeDC), who traveled 1,233 kilometers during 4 days of travel in which they visited the Market del Val, the Plaza Mayor, San Pablo, the Royal Palace and the Chancery in Valladolid; the aqueduct, the Hoces del Duratón and Sepúlveda in Segovia; the Río Lobos Canyon Natural Park and the San Bartolomé Chapel in Soria; a winery in Aranda de Duero, the Cathedral and the archaeological site of Atapuerca in Burgos; a section of the Camino de Santiago, Frómista and the Canal de Castilla in Palencia; the cathedral, the walls and the Gaudí Palace in Astorga, the Las Médulas World Heritage Site and the wet neighborhood, the San Marco Convent and the historic center of León; the region of Sanabria, with the castle and its impressive lake, a cruise on the Duero river in the town of Fermoselle in Zamora; the center, the Plaza Mayor and the University of Salamanca; the walls of Ávila. Likewise, in each visited town they were able to enjoy the typical gastronomy and oenology of each area of Castilla y León.
The analysis of the brain activity data of the three types of tourists that were the object of this study allowed us to draw numerous conclusions, among which the following stand out:
1.- The stimuli that generate the greatest positive emotional activation are those unknown and most surprising for each person:
- The chef felt more emotional intensity in activities in nature: Lake Sanabria, Zamora and the experience in canoes in Hoces del Duratón, Segovia.
- The traveler felt more emotional intensity in activities related to gastronomy: Tapas in the wet neighborhood of Léon and pairing in Aranda de Duero.
- The adventurer felt more emotional intensity in cultural activities: Archaeological site, Burgos Cathedral.
2.- The most felt emotions were: optimism, amazement, enjoyment, surprise and curiosity.
3.- All the destinations visited / activities carried out have evoked positive emotions in the participants. And 61% of those destinations visited / activities carried out have caused some of the participants a significant change in their emotional state, going from neutral or negative to positive.
- The 5 moments of greatest emotional intensity were:
- Archaeological site of Atapuerca.
- Hoces del Río Duratón (canoe route).
- Wet neighborhood of León (tapas).
- Church of San Martín de Tours (Frómista).
- Plaza Mayor of Salamanca.
4.- The most intense emotions experienced in:
- Natural resources, calm and pleasure.
- In cultural resources, amazement and admiration.
- In gastronomic resources, satisfaction and pleasure.
5.- 72% of the intense emotional experiences surprised the participants.
6.- 68.2% of the peaks of positive emotional activation experienced in places / activities, cause a positive mood of more than forty minutes, 21.3% of more than 50 minutes and 10.5% of more than an hour.
We have been able to see how corners of Castilla y León have totally changed the mood of the people who participated in the experiment. We can be proud to have measured the magic of a tourist destination for the first time in history. In this way we have scientifically demonstrated that Castilla y León is an attractive destination for different types of tourists, with different motivations José Ruiz Pardo, CEO and Director of Neurotechnology at Goli neuromarketing
When technology and emotion are properly mixed, magical things can happen. It is a pleasure to share this project with everyone. Castilla y León is waiting for you. What we do not know is what excites us the most, it is a unique experience Beto Nahmad, Executive Creative Director of VCCP Spain
We must assess the vision and courage of the Junta de Castilla y León by understanding the value of the idea that we proposed to them and by betting on a real experiment, without knowing the results that we were going to obtain. This courage has been translated into a communication action never before done in the tourism sector in which, not only is it communicated but also shows the relevance of the different experiences that each type of tourist can live in this tourist destination Javier Suso, CEO VCCP Spain
