High Tech versus High Touch: Visitor Responses to the Use of Technology in Tourist Attractions

Abstract

There are a number of current debates in the academic and management literature about the benefits and costs of introducing technology into tourist experiences. The debate is an important one for those who manage tourist attractions when making decisions about which directions to take in the development of visitor experiences. A review of the relevant literature in tourism suggests that very little attention has been paid to tourists' perceptions of, and interest in, the use of technology to create and enhance their experiences. This study sought to address this gap by surveying visitors to an Australian aquarium and asking them about their support for the adoption of various forms of exhibits. The results indicated that tourists can be grouped according to their support for the use of technology in visitor experiences and their levels of use of technology in general. A general model of tourist technology adoption is proposed and explored and implications of the results are discussed both for tourist attraction management and for future research into this phenomenon.Keywords: cyber-tourism, high-touch/high-tech, attractions, market segments. Tourism and TechnologyThe increasing availability and flexibility of many forms of technology offers a range of both opportunities and challenges in many sectors including tourism. Technology is frequently described as a key driver for increasing the mobility of tourists, and therefore, for sustaining the growth of the tourism industry (Rayman-Bacchus and Molina 2001;Chon and Singh 1995;Laws et al. 1998; Moscardo et ai. 2000). Research on tourism and technology to date, however, has focussed almost exclusively on three areas: (1) information technologies; (2) the Internet; and (3) virtual reality. Stipanuk (1993), however, has provided a more holistic framework to illustrate the roles of technology in tourism. These roles included technology as a: Following Stipanuk, most research dealing with information technology and the Internet would fall into the category of 'technology as a tool of the tourism industry'. Stipanuk (1993: 267) maintained that 'there is clearly a need for a view of technology and tourism which is broader than that developed in the existing literature.' He suggested that this view should consider technological issues related to the tourism industry and the tourist, and should recognize the role of technology in the creation of tourist attractions. While this proposition is now more than a decade old, very few researchers have explored technology and tourism from this more holistic perspective. The present study aims to address this gap by exploring visitor perceptions of technology use in a regional tourist attraction.In the broader tourism literature, Sheldon (1997) has considered the role of technology in tourism in her discussion of 'high-tech' and 'high-touch' visitors. Sheldon (1997) suggested two polar responses to technology, using a hightech/high-touch paradigm. She proposed that some PIERRE BENCKENDORFF is Lecturer in Tourism Programme at

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