Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Accommodation planning applications
(e.g. hotels.com, hotelpal). These applications function as
a location-based tourist information centre service for accommodation services. Users are
able to fi nd hotels within their current location and compare prices, quality levels and other
features, as well as book accommodation. These assist users' information search processes,
enabling shorter planning times and increased fl exibility and choice.
Tour guide applications
(e.g. UK Travel guide, NY Travel guide). These applications generally
consist of city guides providing recommendations for restaurants, shopping, attractions,
nightlife and possibly some augmented reality services. These applications add value since
the information is constantly updated, often includes the reviewers of other visitors as well
as sponsored information, which is easy to use and relatively cost-effective.
Directional services
(e.g. Google maps, Navmii). Can offer complete satellite navigation
software designed for a mobile platform, or a simple map service to help users fi nd their way
through and about their location. These types of applications offer simple solutions to tourists
seeking to fi nd their way around a city or tourism destination and offer search functions,
distances and other information.
Location based social
-
networking applications
(e.g. Gowalla, Foursquare). These applications have
the potential to offer important social opportunities for tourists, helping them to identify
friends and contacts in their location and to discover opportunities to experience different
aspects of a destination. This could enhance the feeling of connection with a place, and lead
to more authentic visitor experiences (off the beaten track). Users receive rewards and can
play games, adding value to the visitor experience.
Attraction applications
(e.g. ThrillSeeker). These types of applications have often been developed
to deliver an enhanced visitor experience at a particular site or attraction. Some include an
augmented reality feature, which allows users to point their camera phone at a location and
additional information is overlaid onto the viewfi nder to create a more interactive user
experience and add additional quality to the interpretation of an artefact or location.
Company specifi c applications
(e.g. British Airways, Lufthansa). These applications allow
users to view and manage their bookings and other information that the company may
hold about them. Airlines provide customers with scannable QR codes as boarding passes
to mobiles, and these applications are very useful for companies to manage their customer
relationships.
Tourist assistance applications
(e.g. eCurrency, language translator). These types of applications
provide supporting services for travellers including spoken language translation and
translation services using the camera function. These services can facilitate tourist experiences
and enable new types of tourist interactions.
Social
-
networking applications
(e.g. Facebook, Twitter). These types of applications are also
available on mobile platforms, which allow users to share information, photographs and
experiences about places with their friends.
These apps were classifi ed according to their relevance within different stages of the tourist
experience. Some apps are more relevant to the planning and information gathering stages,
whereas others are specifi c to the activities during travel. Others, such as social networking apps
are generic and applicable to all stages.
Methodology
For this study an online survey methodology was adopted, which has proven useful in tourism
and hospitality research (Hung and Law 2011). The study aimed to understand if and how
