Destination Vancouver is using scare tactics to draw visitors to some of the city’s less-travelled destinations.

In collaboration with creative studios One Net Agency and Hololabs, the destination marketing and management organization has launched an immersive-storytelling experience based on the HBO series The Last of Us.

There are levels to this: “Survive Vancouver” is an augmented-reality (AR) experience that takes participants to the real-life filming locations of a television series based on a survival-horror video-game franchise.

Stefan Hawes, VP of global marketing at Destination Vancouver, tells strategy that the project started out as a location-based Last of Us episode guide to the city. When the DMO decided to further develop and devote more resources to the project, AR became the logical next step.

“Immersive storytelling is increasingly becoming part of how we invite people to discover Vancouver,” Hawes says. “This AR activation is a natural extension of that – a tool to guide visitors toward parts of the city they may not have otherwise explored, through engagement that feels both playful and purposeful.”

One Net Agency guided the project’s gamification and storytelling aspects, while Hololabs developed the AR technology that is powered by software company Niantic, the creators of Pokémon Go.

Participants are guided to uncover hidden digital props, unlock code words and collect clues at locations in Vancouver’s downtown, Chinatown, Gastown and Cole Harbour neigbourhoods. The technology overlays digital images, sounds or video onto the real world when viewed through smartphones, tablets or AR glasses.

The activation serves a dual purpose of attracting visitors looking for a novel, fan-friendly gateway into the city, while also highlighting Vancouver – already a top North American film and TV production hub – as a desirable destination for those scouting future filming locations. In addition to The Last of Us, the city has played host to numerous high-profile productions, including 21 Jump Street, The X-Files, Deadpool and Shōgun.

Hawes says traffic to the Destination Vancouver website that showed film and TV productions were among the most searched topics proved there was a strong case to develop an experience like “Survive Vancouver.”

“There’s a reason Vancouver is a favourite for film and television production. It’s a modern, energetic city set against one of the most spectacular natural backdrops in the world,” Hawes says. “As screen tourism continues to evolve, Vancouver is well-positioned and we’re committed to building experiences that let visitors engage with fandom in more immersive, meaningful ways.”

“Survive Vancouver” launches in the same year that five regional B.C. DMOs partnered with the BC Film Commission and Screen BC to launch the Cineventure AR platform, which explores filming locations in other areas of the province.

Hawes says that while the two projects were developed independently, there is potential for the organizations to worked together in the future.

“We’ve been following Cineventure’s work closely and really admire what they’ve created,” he says. “We’ve had some early conversations about how our approaches might intersect, and we’re definitely open to future collaboration.”