Mobile Technologies Effects on Travel Behaviours and Experiences: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

The increased opportunity for tourists to be connected to the Internet during the trip, the development of social media, as well as advances in mobile technologies have profoundly affected travel experiences and behaviours. Travel stages (pre-trip, during-trip and post-trip) can overlap with a repositioning of some activities from the pre-trip and post-trip stages to the during-trip step. Therefore, the consumption of travel services becomes particularly important to be managed by travel operators, considering also the rapid progress of mobile tracking technologies. The present study explores the impacts of mobile technologies on travel experience with the purpose of understanding the most appropriate ways to interact with tourists. A qualitative research methodology was adopted to investigate how young adults employ mobile technologies in their travel experiences. The results of this pilot study will be the basis for identifying research questions to be tested in a subsequent research step

The influences and consequences of being digitally connected and/or disconnected to travellers

“…Some respondents even admitted that, during their travels, they sometimes become even more active than usual on social media. This also supports Minazzi and Mauri's (2015) claim that memorable travel experiences can increase the amount and variety of content that travellers' publish on social media.…”

“…Memorable travel experiences increase the likelihood and the variety of content that travellers are willing to publish on social media (Minazzi and Mauri 2015). As social posts start to become a new form of postcards, the reaction of other users to the content uploaded can shape the travel experience of the uploader.…”

“…Other enablers of technology enhanced experiences, such as hardware and software (Neuhofer et al 2015), often depend on connectivity to fully maximise their functionalities. The internet allows users to obtain information, share experiences through content and communication, and co-create experiences (Wang et al 2014;Minazzi and Mauri 2015;Neuhofer et al 2015). Whereas ubiquitous and reliable 3G/4G networks are amongst the most widely adopted solutions for connectivity, they are expensive when used abroad.…”

“…Connectivity provide travellers a sense of security in knowing that any needs can be addressed instantly. Minazzi and Mauri (2015) discussed how tourists reduce the perception of risk through the availability of online information and enrich their experiences with instant decisions using mobility devices. This reduces the conventional stress that arises from temporarily living in a different and unknown environment, often with its different culture, language, norms, especially when visiting for the first time.…”

Young-Elderly Travellers as Potential Users and Actual Users of Internet with Mobile Devices During Trips

“…In fact using a personal mobile device for online purposes during trips is seen by many travellers as important [10]. Minazzi and Mauri [14] point out that the use of mobile devices and applications affect the travel experience in different stages of the traveller life cycle. On the other hand Pesonen et al [17] found that Finnish seniors seldom use their mobile devices to connect to the Internet during trips.…”