Usage Of Smartphone Applications In Tourism

Master's Thesis from the year 2011 in the subject Tourism - Miscellaneous, grade: 9,7 (of 10) - distinction, Bournemouth University (School of Tourism), course: European Tourism Management, language: English, abstract: In recent years, smartphone applications have appeared as a new tool helping travellers create experiences. Taking into consideration the potential impact of the smartphones and mobile applications, it is important to analyse the usage of smartphone applications in tourism. This dissertation analyses the already existing mobile applications on the tourism market, clarifies which type of consumers uses these applications during their travel process and predicts some future trends for these new mobile services. There are several different user groups who use smartphones in a variety of different ways, from business users to media junkies. The literature review shows that the main customers are young men, who use these applications especially to plan their travel during the information phase. But smartphone applications can not only support tourists' information processing activities such as connection and navigation in the tourism consumption stage, but also the activities in the pre-consumption and post-consumption stages. A survey in Madrid (Spain) and Nuremberg (Germany) was conducted for this dissertation showing the main differences and similarities in using smartphone applications for tourism activities. The usage of smartphones in Germany is still more frequent than in Spain and the main used device is the iPhone from Apple. Furthermore, German as well as Spanish travellers focus their usage mainly on the information stage than on the booking process, as the majority of mobile applications are purely informative such as maps or tourist travel guides. The usage is also still challenged by expensive roaming charges and poor Internet connectivity. For a successful usage tourism companies should therefore focus on aspects like secure and e

Master's Thesis from the year 2011 in the subject Tourism, grade: 9,7 (of 10) - distinction, Bournemouth University (School of Tourism), course: European Tourism Management, language: English, abstract: In recent years, smartphone applications have appeared as a new tool helping travellers create experiences. Taking into consideration the potential impact of the smartphones and mobile applications, it is important to analyse the usage of smartphone applications in tourism. This dissertation analyses the already existing mobile applications on the tourism market, clarifies which type of consumers uses these applications during their travel process and predicts some future trends for these new mobile services. There are several different user groups who use smartphones in a variety of different ways, from business users to media junkies. The literature review shows that the main customers are young men, who use these applications especially to plan their travel during the information phase. But smartphone applications can not only support tourists’ information processing activities such as connection and navigation in the tourism consumption stage, but also the activities in the pre-consumption and post-consumption stages. A survey in Madrid (Spain) and Nuremberg (Germany) was conducted for this dissertation showing the main differences and similarities in using smartphone applications for tourism activities. The usage of smartphones in Germany is still more frequent than in Spain and the main used device is the iPhone from Apple. Furthermore, German as well as Spanish travellers focus their usage mainly on the information stage than on the booking process, as the majority of mobile applications are purely informative such as maps or tourist travel guides. The usage is also still challenged by expensive roaming charges and poor Internet connectivity. For a successful usage tourism companies should therefore focus on aspects like secure and efficient mobile services who give tourists feel like accompanied with a reliable and personal travel guide during their whole trip. Only by improving these aspects, smartphone applications will have a successful growth on the tourism market. Keywords: tourism, smartphone, mobile applications

Mobile computing and wireless technology have grown at a phenomenal rate in recent years, and so has artificial intelligence. The most advanced software applications that the world ever witnessed can be realized through a combined aspect of these disciplines, capable of delivering high level support to various industry sectors and to people’s quality of life in general. Currently, many countries are facing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the most impacted industries by the pandemic is that of tourism and hospitality. It is time to explore and leverage the power of mobile and wireless intelligence to assist with the recovery of the tourism and hospitality sector during and after the pandemic, which constitutes a need for relevant research in the field. Mobile Computing and Technology Applications in Tourism and Hospitality presents the latest research and development in mobile and intelligent computing with a focus on tourism and hospitality sectors. The chapters discuss the role of research on innovative technologies and applications for resilience to return the tourism and hospitality industry back to its normal state. This includes research on topics such as sensor-based technology, smart tourism, virtual and augmented reality, mobile travel applications, and more. This book is ideal for managers, executives, museum and cultural heritage specialists, app developers, IT consultants, tourism and hospitality professionals, researchers, academicians, and students.

​The papers presented in this volume advance the state of the art in social media and Web 2.0, electronic tourism marketing, web site and search engine optimization, technology adoption and diffusion, online communities, tourism management and decision support, eLearning, mobile technologies and applications in tourism, recommender systems, e-intermediaries and networks in tourism, customer research in e-tourism and user generated content. The volume collects research papers of prominent scholars from around the world with a disciplinary background in the fields of social or computer sciences. The book covers the most significant topics within the study field of electronic tourism and addresses both, academics and practitioners interested in the latest advances in the electronic travel and tourism domain.

The Emerald Handbook of ICT in Tourism and Hospitality incorporates key research findings, in-depth case studies and discussion of the future implications stemming from technologies changes and developments across a number of core themes.

The papers presented in this volume advance the state-of-the-art research on digital marketing and social media, mobile computing and responsive web design, semantic technologies and recommender systems, augmented and virtual reality, electronic distribution and online travel reviews, MOOC and eLearning, eGovernment and sharing economy. This book covers the most significant areas contributed by prominent scholars from around the world and is suitable for both academics and practitioners who are interested in the latest developments in eTourism.

This book demonstrates the usefulness of the modern smartphone for providing location aware applications to the tourist as an end user. During the course of this book it has been demonstrated that the modern smartphone has the accuracy and responsiveness required to provide excellent location aware functionality to the tourist end user. The GPS section outlines how a developer can leverage this functionality to make apps that use close quarter location positioning to help the average tourist in a host of different ways. It has also been demonstrated that bluetooth and other technologies such as QR coding are effective at providing location aware functionality in situations where GNSS(GPS) is ineffective, such as in indoor environments. Lastly, the book outlines how an engineer could provide augmented location services when GPS is not available by using the RSSI signal from Bluetooth devices.

In today’s modernized society, certain technologies have become more applicable within many professional fields and are much easier to implement. This includes the tourism industry, where smart technology has provided a range of new marketing possibilities including more effective sales tactics and delivering a more personalized customer experience. As the scope of business analytics continues to expand, professionals need research on the various applications of smart technology within the field of tourism. The Handbook of Research on Smart Technology Applications in the Tourism Industry is an essential reference source that discusses the use of intelligent systems in tourism as well as their influence on consumer relationships. Featuring research on topics such as digital advertising, wearable technology, and consumer behavior, this book is ideally designed for travel agents, tour developers, restaurateurs, hotel managers, tour directors, airlines, marketers, researchers, managers, hospitality professionals, policymakers, business strategists, researchers, academicians, and students seeking coverage on the use of smart technologies in tourism.