Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mobile Applications in Tourism: A Tale of Two Perspectives

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Advanced Research in Technologies, Information, Innovation and Sustainability (ARTIIS 2022)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1675))

Abstract

The evolution of mobile devices has allowed the development of features, such as mobile applications (apps), which have contributed to making tourism services and destinations more accessible, significantly changing consumer habits. Currently, apps made available by mobile devices occupy a prominent place in the daily lives of individuals. Thus, the objective of this paper is, on the one hand, to understand the use and satisfaction of mobile applications in the context of tourist trips carried out by the Portuguese and, on the other hand, to know the offer of tourism-related apps available on the Google Play Store and App Store. For that, a quantitative methodology was applied, through the development and application of a survey through social media, between December 21, 2020 and January 8, 2021, and the quantification and description of travel and tourism Apps available in online stores in January 2021. In general, it can be observed that the respondents are knowledgeable and users of travel-related apps, especially in accommodation, navigation, and lodging field. The study offers a valuable contribution to the knowledge of consumer behavior in tourism and the app market.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Haini, H.: Tourism, Internet penetration and economic growth. J. Policy Res. Tour. Leis. Events, 1–7 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Markteste. https://bit.ly/3NwjcRD. Accessed 30 Apr 2022

  3. Beier, M., Aebli, A.: Who uses mobile apps frequently on vacation? Evidence from tourism in Switzerland. In: Inversini, A., Schegg, R. (eds.) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2016, pp. 549–562. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28231-2_40

  4. Pew Research Center. https://pewrsr.ch/3a2VUFD. Accessed 15 Feb 2022

  5. Statista. https://bit.ly/3R3wEzl. Accessed 01 June 2022

  6. Kennedy-Eden, H., Gretzel, U.: A taxonomy of mobile applications in tourism. E-Rev. Tour. Res. 10(2), 47–50 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Ramos-Soler, I., Martínez-Sala, A.M., Campillo-Alhama, C.: ICT and the sustainability of world heritage sites. Analysis of senior citizens’ use of tourism apps. Sustainability 11(11), 3203 (2019). ZDNet. https://bit.ly/3uhKjt0. Accessed 10 May 2022

  8. MacKay, K., Vogt, C.: Information technology in everyday and vacation context. Ann. Tour. Res. 39(3), 1380–1401 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Gursoy, D., Chi, C.G.: Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on hospitality industry: review of the current situations and a research agenda. J. Hosp. Mark. Manag. 29(5), 527–529 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Filho, L.M., Batista, J.O., Cacho, A.D., Soares, A.L.V.: Aplicativos Móveis e Turismo: Um Estudo Quantitativo Aplicando a Teoria do Comportamento Planejado. Rosa dos Ventos 9(2), 179–199 (2017). Universidade de Caxias do Sul

    Google Scholar 

  11. Parra-López, E., Bulchand-Gidumal, J., Gutiérrez-Taño, D., Díaz-Armas, R.: Intentions to use social media in organizing and taking vacation trips. Comput. Hum. Behav. 27(2), 640–654 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Vatanparast, R., Qadim, H.Z.: A cross-cultural study on mobile internet usage. Int. J. Mob. Mark. 4(2), 14–27 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kim, D.-Y., Park, J., Morrison, A.M.: A model of traveller acceptance of mobile technology. Int. J. Tour. Res. 10(5), 393–407 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Oh, S., Lehto, X.Y., Park, J.: Travelers’ intent to use mobile technologies as a function of effort and performance expectancy. J. Hosp. Mark. Manag. 18(8), 761–781 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Venkatesh, V., Davis, F.D.: A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four longitudinal field studies. Manag. Sci. 46(2), 186–204 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Conroy, S., Williams, A.: Use of internet, social networking sites, and mobile technology for volunteerism, AARP report, April 2014

    Google Scholar 

  17. Piwek, L., Joinson, A., Morvan, J.: The use of self-monitoring solutions amongst cyclists: an online survey and empirical study. Transp. Res. Part A 77, 126–136 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Lai, C.-H.: An integrated approach to untangling mediated connectedness with online and mobile media. Comput. Hum. Behav. 31, 20–26 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Holt, K., Shehata, A., Strömbäck, J., Ljungberg, E.: Age and the effects of news media attention and social media use on political interest and participation: do social media function as leveller? Eur. J. Commun. 28(1), 19–34 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Hwang, J., Kim, J.J., Lee, L.J.S.-H., Sahito, N.: How to form wellbeing perception and its outcomes in the context of elderly tourism: moderating role of tour guide services. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 17, 1029 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17031029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Lopes, M.C.: Relação entre turismo e qualidade de vida no turismo sénior. Avaliação na Eurorregião. (Tese de Doutoramento). Universidade de Vigo. Vigo (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Alén, E., Losada, N., Carlos, P.: Profiling the segments of senior tourists throughout motivation and travel characteristics. Curr. Issue Tour. 20(14), 1454–1469 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1007927

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Neuhofer, B., Ladkin, A.: (Dis)connectivity in the travel context: setting an agenda for research. In: Schegg, R., Stangl, B. (eds.) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2017, pp. 347–359. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51168-9_25

  24. Zhang, H., Leung, X.Y., Bai, B., Li, Y.: Uncovering crowdsourcing in tourism apps: a grounded theory study. Tour. Manag. 87, 104389, 39 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Rahimi, R., Hassan, A., Tekin, O.: Augmented reality apps for tourism destination promotion. In: Destination Management and Marketing: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice, pp. 1066–1077. IGI Global (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Imbert-Bouchard Ribera, D., Llonch Molina, N., Martín Piñol, C., Osàcar Marzal, E.: Turismo cultural y apps. Un breve panorama de la situación actual (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Pencarelli, T.: The digital revolution in the travel and tourism industry. Inf. Technol. Tour. 22(3), 455–476 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40558-019-00160-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Dickinson, J.E., Ghali, K., Cherrett, T., Speed, C., Davies, N., Norgate, S.: Tourism and the smartphone app: capabilities, emerging practice and scope in the travel domain. Curr. Issue Tour. 17(1), 84–101 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Anacleto, R., Figueiredo, L., Almeida, A., Novais, P.: Mobile application to provide personalized sightseeing tours. J. Netw. Comput. Appl. 41, 56–64 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Hall, M.C., Prayag, G., Fieger, P., Dyason, D.: Beyond panic buying: consumption displacement and COVID-19. J. Serv. Manag. (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  31. De Souza, J.M.M., Mondo, T.S.: A utilização de food delivery apps por turistas: ameaça ou complementaridade à oferta de alimentação em destinos turísticos?: for the use of food delivery applications by tourists: does it complement or complement the offer of food in tourist destinations?. Revista turismo estudos e práticas-rtep/uern 10(2) (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Minazzi, R., Mauri, A.G.: Mobile technologies effects on travel behaviours and experiences: a preliminary analysis. In: Tussyadiah, I., Inversini, A. (eds.) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2015, pp. 507–521. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14343-9_37

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  33. Fuchs, M., Höpken, W., Zanker, M., Beer, T.: Context-based adaptation of mobile applications in tourism. Inf. Technol. Tour. 12(2), 175–195 (2010). https://doi.org/10.3727/109830510X12887971002783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Tan, G.W.-H., Lee, V.H., Lin, B., Ooi, K.B.: Mobile applications in tourism: the future of the tourism industry? Ind. Manag. Data Syst. 117(3), 560–581 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-12-2015-0490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Rashid, R.A., Ismail, R., Ahmad, M., Abdullah, N., Zakaria, R., Mamat, R.: Mobile apps in tourism communication: the strengths and weaknesses on tourism trips. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 1529, 1–6 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Hussein, S., Ahmed, E.: Mobile application for tourism: the case of Egypt. Int. J. Cust. Relatsh. Mark. Manag. (IJCRMM) 13(1), 1–29 (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Usman, M.: Difference Between App Store vs Google Play Store (2017). https://citrusbits.com/difference-app-store-vs-google-play-store-2/. Accessed 15 June 2022

  38. Google. https://bit.ly/3ujbnrU. Accessed 05 June 2022

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the research unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policy (UIDB/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polytechnique Institute of Portalegre, Portalegre, Portugal

    Gorete Dinis, Maria Carlos Lopes & Adelaide Proença

  2. GOVCOPP - Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, Aveiro, Portugal

    Gorete Dinis

  3. CiTUR - Research Center for Tourism, Innovation and Development, Algarve, Portugal

    Gorete Dinis & Maria Carlos Lopes

  4. VALORIZA - Research Center for the Valorization of Endogenous Resources, Portalegre, Portugal

    Adelaide Proença

Authors
  1. Gorete Dinis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Maria Carlos Lopes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Adelaide Proença
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gorete Dinis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Estatal Península de Santa, La Libertad, Ecuador

    Teresa Guarda

  2. University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal

    Filipe Portela

  3. BITrum Research Group, Leon, Spain

    Maria Fernanda Augusto

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Dinis, G., Lopes, M.C., Proença, A. (2022). Mobile Applications in Tourism: A Tale of Two Perspectives. In: Guarda, T., Portela, F., Augusto, M.F. (eds) Advanced Research in Technologies, Information, Innovation and Sustainability. ARTIIS 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1675. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20319-0_13

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20319-0_13

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-20318-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-20319-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation