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

© 2017, The Author(s).Technological progress and tourism have worked in tandem for many years. Connectivity is the vehicle that drove the goal of technologically enhanced tourism experiences forward. This study, through an exploratory qualitative research identifies the factors that boost and/or distract travellers from obtaining a digitally enhanced tourism experience. Four factors can boost and/or distract travellers from being connected: (1) hardware and software, (2) needs and contexts, (3) openness to usage, and (4) supply and provision of connectivity. The research also analyses the positive and/or negative consequences that arise from being connected or disconnected. A Connected/Disconnected Consequences Model illustrates five forms of positive and/or negative consequences: (1) availability, (2) communication, (3) information obtainability, (4) time consumption, and (5) supporting experiences. A better understanding of the role and consequence of connectivity during the trip can enhance traveller experience

No signal here: self-development and optimal experience from digital-free tourism

The present research aims to establish a conceptual understanding of the benefits tourists may gain from digital-free tourism. The concept of digital-free tourism was proposed to represent situations characterised by the absence of or severely limited access to information and communication technology. There has been a contemporary concern over the sustained use of the internet and digital technologies, in terms of the side-effects on individuals' physical, psychological and social conditions and the possible deterioration of tourist experience. Therefore, the assumption of the potential of reduced technology use in tourism to improve tourist well-being has been claimed. Four interrelated studies were conducted to investigate the topic both as a social phenomenon and a niche tourism market. The rewarding outcomes of digital-free tourism were examined by addressing three specific questions. The first research question "is digital-free tourism rising in prominence?" was answered by the first study – media representation of digital-free tourism: a critical discourse analysis included in Chapter 2 of this thesis. Archival data, that is online media documents focusing on the broad topic of digital detoxing on holiday, was analysed at three levels, including linguistic characteristics, temporal diachronic interpretation and socio-cultural explanation. Media discourses around digital-free tourism were found to be evolving. Specifically, vacations and tourism are discoursed as ideal situations for managing technology use behaviours. The value of digital-free tourism over time has moved from relieving stress to life flourishing. Multiple digital-free tourism providers now offer diverse experiences to a growing broad market. The second research question "what are the positive experiences and impacts of digital-free tourism?" was answered by conducting the second study – exploration of benefits from digital-free tourism: a grounded theory approach in Chapter 3. Sixty five carefully selected key informants with expert knowledge or personal experience of digital-free tourism were asked to report their experience, observations and perspectives about reduced technology use on holiday. Based on the patterns in the data, a theoretical model was developed to display the positive changes of tourists' psychological, behavioural and life conditions through the process of digital-free tourism. The third research question "in what ways does digital-free vacation experience contribute to people's well-being?" was addressed in two further in-depth studies. These studies were developed in Chapters 4 and 5. The third study in Chapter 4 - self-development in digital-free tourism: building character strengths through coping with challenging investigated the correlations between digital-free tourism and the development of character strengths and virtues which build personal well-being. Key-informants' statements obtained in the previous study were re-coded by employing a catalogue of twenty four character strengths in positive psychology as a priori coding scheme. In the results, twenty three character strengths were found to be related to digital-free tourism. They were perceived to be the strengths that were utilised to cope with issues faced in the digital-free contexts. A tiered model was built to outline the core, secondary and peripheral strengths in digital-free tourism. The fourth study in Chapter 5 - optimal experience: the role of reduced smartphone use in increasing perception of restorative environments and producing flow attempted to develop measures for the levels of perceived restorative quality of digital-free tourism environments and the flow tourists experienced when technology use was reduced; as well as to examine the nexus among critical variables by testing a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM). The hypothesised positive correlation between restorative environment and flow was confirmed. Smartphone dependence was found to be effective in reducing the level of flow and moderating the relationship between restorative environment and flow. A VI trend of high dependence on smartphone weakening tourists' ability to perceive restorative digital-free environment was also revealed by this empirical study. Consequently, the value and significance of positive changes of tourists' psychological, social, behavioural and life conditions arising from disconnection are suggested in these findings about the understudied concept of digital-free tourism. Such knowledge can make important theoretical contributions to the understanding of the intricate relationship between technology and tourism, the rewarding outcomes of vacation time involving reduced technology engagement, and the well-being from positive tourist experience. Digital-free tourism can provide individuals opportunities to experience a new way of being in this digital era, reflect on and regulate the technology use behaviours of themselves and their families, as well as increase well-being through selecting unplugging vacations. The present research also introduced digital-free tourism as a new style of tourism product and service that can be an effective strategy for remote regions to develop innovative forms of tourism

An Interpretivist Study Of Customer Self-Service Technology Usage And Experiences In The Tourism Sector.

This study provides an interpretivist exploration of customer usage and experiences of self-service technologies (SSTs) in the tourism sector. Tourism customers are increasingly using a wide range of SSTs, for example, to make reservations online and use self-check-in and „bag and tag‟ facilities at airports. While SST research to date has provided insights into the factors affecting customer SST adoption decisions, the aim of this study is to explore customers‟ perspectives on their usage and experiences of SSTs in the tourism sector. This interpretivist study employs a two-stage qualitative methodology of short qualitative interviews with 133 participants at an international airport, followed by 32 in-depth interviews with SST users in the tourism sector. Seven motivations for SST usage are identified in this research. Whilst motivations such as convenience and access to lower prices have received some research attention, three new motivations emerge in this research, namely forced usage, eco-friendliness and empathy for other customers. In addition, customer experiences of SSTs are explored through the lens of the value-in-experience concept. This approach illustrates whether SST usage creates value for the customer (e.g. a sense of accomplishment) or destroys value (e.g. a perception of lack of control over the SST encounter). Using the theoretical lens of Service-Dominant Logic, an analysis of SST experiences indicates that customers undertake a variety of SST roles, such as that of convenience seeker, motivated worker, enforced worker and judge. Some of these roles indicate that customers are often required to use SSTs by the tourism provider, and may not be given other options (e.g. personal encounter with employees). Similarly, customers often assume the role of partial employee, by working on behalf of the tourism provider, to assist other customers who experience SST difficulties. Therefore, it is asserted that from the user‟s point of view, SST usage is often imposed upon customers, as opposed to being offered as an option, thus challenging the traditional customer-centricity of the marketing paradigm, as proposed by the Service-Dominant Logic. A key contribution of this study is the development and examination of a model of SST usage, which illustrates the complex, nuanced and often contradictory nature of a customer‟s usage and experiences. This model may facilitate marketers, managers and policy makers in planning strategic service interventions to enhance value creation in SST usage and ensure successful implementation of SSTs in the tourism sector and the wider services sector

The adoption intention of travel-related app: a framework integrating perceived characteristics of innovation and software quality

This thesis aims to analyze the views of customers who have great appetite for tourism on the tourism application. According to the perception characteristics of technology acceptance model, innovation diffusion theory and software quality model, the thesis sets up the research model and puts forward the corresponding research hypothesis on the combination of current research results. In the manner of questionnaire design and collection and data processing, data analysis and hypothesis verification will be conducted by the use of structural equation model. The research result implies that application design attributes and application performance features are key to promote the adoption of mobile travel application. In addition, this research broadens our horizons on the accidental impact of application attributes on adoption behavior through adding user gender as a variable to the model, and increases an awesome theoretical basis for future research in this field.Esta tese tem como objetivo analisar as visões de potenciais turistas com grande interesse por aplicações turísticas. De acordo com as características de percepção do modelo de aceitação de tecnologia, teoria da difusão da inovação e modelo de qualidade de software, a tese estabelece o modelo de investigação e propõe hipóteses de investigação correspondentes, sobre a combinação de resultados da pesquisa atual. Uma vez realizado o desenho do questionário e feita a recolha e processamento de dados, a análise de dados e a verificação de hipóteses foram conduzidas pelo uso do modelo de equações estruturais. O resultado da pesquisa implica que os atributos de design do aplicativo e os recursos de desempenho do aplicativo são fundamentais para promover a adoção do aplicativo móvel de viagem. Além disso, esta pesquisa amplia os horizontes sobre o impacto acidental de atributos de aplicação no comportamento de adoção, adicionando o gênero do usuário como uma variável ao modelo, e aumenta uma importante base teórica para pesquisas futuras neste campo

The Development and Evaluation of a Mobile App to Facilitate Public Transport Use for Individuals on The Autism Spectrum: A Co-Production Approach

Mortaza developed and evaluated the first evidence-based, autism-specific trip-planning mobile application to facilitate public transport use for autistic people in the Australian context. This tool was co-produced with individuals on the autism spectrum and was effective in making public transport less stressful. The outcome can improve their quality of life, as the ability to independently use public transport can present individuals on the autism spectrum new opportunities for employment, education and social interaction

Passengers’ choices in multimodal public transport systems : A study of revealed behaviour and measurement methods

The concept of individual choice is a fundamental aspect when explaining and anticipating behavioural interactions with, and responses to, static and dynamic travel conditions in public transport (PT) systems. However, the empirical rounding of existing models used for forecasting travel demand, which itself is a result of a multitude of individual choices, is often insufficient in terms of detail and accuracy. This thesis explores three aspects, or themes, of PT trips – waiting times, general door-to-door path preferences, with a special emphasis on access and egress trip legs, and service reliability – in order to increase knowledge about how PT passengers interact with PT systems. Using detailed spatiotemporal empirical data from a dedicated survey app and PT fare card transactions, possible cross-sectional relationships between travel conditions and waiting times are analysed, where degrees of mental effort are gauged by an information acquisition proxy. Preferences for complete door-todoorpaths are examined by estimation of full path choice models. Finally, longitudinal effects of changing service reliability are analysed using a biennial panel data approach. The constituent studies conclude that there are otherexplanatory factors than headway that explain waiting times on first boarding stops of PT trips and that possession of knowledge of exact departure times reduces mean waiting times. However, this information factor is not evidentin full path choice, where time and effort-related preferences dominate with a consistent individual preference factor. Finally, a statistically significant on-average adaption to changing service reliability is individual-specific andnon-symmetrical depending on the direction of reliability change, where a relatively large portion of the affected individuals do not appear to respond to small-scale perturbations of reliability while others do, all other thingsbeing equal

Connecting with home, keeping in touch : physical and virtual mobility across stretched families in sub-Saharan Africa.

There is a long history of migration among low-income families in sub-Saharan Africa, in which (usually young, often male) members leave home to seek their fortune in what are perceived to be more favourable locations. While the physical and virtual mobility practices of such stretched families are often complex and contingent, maintaining contact with distantly located close kin is frequently of crucial importance for the maintenance of emotional (and possibly material) well-being, both for those who have left home and for those who remain. This article explores the ways in which these connections are being reshaped by increasing access to mobile phones in three sub-Saharan countries – Ghana, Malawi and South Africa – drawing on interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research from twenty-four sites, ranging from poor urban neighbourhoods to remote rural hamlets. Stories collected from both ends of stretched families present a world in which the connectivities now offered by the mobile phone bring a different kind of closeness and knowing, as instant sociality introduces a potential substitute for letters, cassettes and face-to-face visits, while the rapid resource mobilization opportunities identified by those still at home impose increasing pressures on migrant kin

Adoption and acceptance of mobile commerce in Saudi Arabia: the case of e-ticketing in the airline industry

Mobile technology has influenced business strategies over recent years and the increasing penetration of mobile devices and related solutions such as mobile commerce has revolutionised consumer organisations. Saudi Arabia with its high mobile penetration has the potential for higher usage of mobile services in the near future. This research aimed at understanding and evaluating the acceptance and adoption of mobile commerce in Saudi Arabia with specific focus on the airline ticketing services through evaluation of the attitude and behaviour of the airline consumers towards mobile commerce in airline ticketing services. The research was designed as a mixed and explanatory research and used both deductive and inductive approaches to understanding mobile commerce acceptance in airline ticketing services. The research also involved extensive review of technology adoption models such as Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), based on which a research framework was developed and hypotheses specified. Quantitative study involved online questionnaire based survey with 207 travellers who were connected at the King Abdul-Aziz airport in Saudi Arabia, while qualitative study involved interviews with eight employees of Saudi Airlines. The collected data was analysed using MS Excel and SPSS and subjected to descriptive, regression and content analysis. The research findings indicate positive perceptions of airline travellers towards the usefulness, ease of use and other related benefits of using mobile commerce for air ticketing services. The key factors influencing the attitude were identified to be the ease of use, usefulness and social influence, while key determinants of behavioural intention were identified to be mobility, compatibility and usefulness. The other factors such as cost, trust, perceived risk and usecontext were not found to be the key influencers of the behavioural intention of Saudi Arabian travelers towards use of mobile commerce for airline ticketing services. Another key finding was the lack of any significant differences, perhaps surprising, in the behavioural intention to use mobile commerce across various demographic groups based on age, gender and education. The research findings will be useful for both practitioners of mobile commerce as well as academicians involved in research on acceptance and adoption of mobile commerce. Moreover, the research findings are not just useful for the airline industry in Saudi Arabia, but can also be consulted by those interested in understanding mobile-commerce acceptance in airline industry anywhere else across the globe or any other industry in Saudi Arabia