Use of Mobile Technology and Smartphone Apps on the Camino de Santiago: A Comparison of American and European Pilgrims

Mobile technology and smartphone apps are increasingly being used by pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, leading us to wonder what the role of technology is among Camino pilgrims and what impact technology has on the Camino experience. The purpose of this research is to explore these questions. To do so we conducted separate surveys of American and European pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. This paper presents our analysis of the results of these surveys, focusing on differences between American and European pilgrims. The results showed that some mobile technologies are used extensively by pilgrims, although pilgrims did not consider the technology to be essential. They also showed that technology impacts the Camino experience in both positive and negative ways. Similarities and differences between American and European pilgrims were found in the results

Tourist adoption of mapping apps: a UTAUT2 perspective of smart travellers

Purpose – Mapping apps are location based travel apps used for navigation and routing. These apps are gaining worldwide popularity because of its enormous potential. Despite of the growing popularity and utility of the mapping apps, the published literature in this area is scarce, leaving an unexplored area of research. Thus, the current study aims to identify factors affecting tourist’s intentions to use mapping apps while travelling. Design – The Extended Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) was applied as the basis of the present study Methodology – The data was collected from 284 travellers in India using a structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Square approach. Findings – The results indicated that the most significant antecedents of behavioral intentions are habit, facilitating conditions, performance expectancy and hedonic motivation. It was observed that the actual usage behavior was influenced by traveler’s intentions and habit to use the technology (mapping apps). However it was noted that effort expectancy, social influence and price value had no significant effects on the tourist’s intentions to use mapping apps while travelling. Originality of the research – Till date limited empirical studies have explored the adoption of mapping apps by travelers. This study is unique as it explores the adoption intentions using a relevant theoretical framework in the developing economy context wherein the use of mapping apps is still in the nascent stage. This research contributes to the literature of innovation adoption and provides an interesting perspective to companies developing location based travel mobile apps

The Role of Communication Technologies in Restructuring Pilgrimage Journeys

Pilgrimage has evolved alongside the evolution of communication technology. Emergent communication technology is changing how people present themselves and tell others about their experiences, including within the context of pilgrimages. Building upon this recognition, this paper examines how evolving communication technologies have changed pilgrimage using Victor Turner’s concepts of rite of passage and communitas. This conceptual paper recognises that technologies, such as the internet, mobile phones and social media, all influence the three stages of the pilgrimage ritual process: separation, liminality, and reintegration. This paper provides a conceptual clarification of the differences between how the medieval and the 21st Century pilgrims experience and represent rite of passage and define the spirit of community, and position themselves in relation to both. The paper shows that the power of the physical journey clearly remains the same in modern pilgrimages as it was in the medieval era, but the mental journey is meaningfully altered. Using Goffman’s theory of ‘self-presentation’, this paper highlights changes in how pilgrims present themselves and their pilgrimage experiences on social media. In this context, self-presentation is described as the way the pilgrim manages the impressions they make on other people, particularly at the liminal stage. While medieval pilgrims kept diaries, modern pilgrims document their pilgrimage experiences via constant status updates on social media. Social media is an important medium for modern pilgrims to present a certain version of self-identity to other users of sites. This paper emphasises the need for a deeper assessment of the conceptualisation of pilgrimage in the contemporary era as technology creates and facilitates new layers of the pilgrimage experience

What motivates posting online travel reviews? Integrating gratifications with technological acceptance factors

Purpose –The aim of the present study is to understand the effect of travelers’ motivations and technological acceptance factors on intentions to post online reviews. Design- Uses and gratification and the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) were applied as the basis of the present study. Methodology – A structured questionnaire was designed on the basis of the previous literature. 600 questionnaires were distributed out of which 273 valid responses were considered for statistical analysis. Findings – The results reveal that altruism, reciprocity, effort expectancy, habit and hedonic motivations have positive influence, whereas economic rewards negatively influence the intentions of travelers to post online reviews. However, there is no significant relationship between social influence and review posting intentions of travelers. Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between altruism and effort expectancy; reciprocity and effort expectancy and habit and effort expectancy. Further, both behavioural intentions and habit were significant predictors of actual usage. Originality/ Value – The present study is among the few studies which investigate the effect of motivational factors in conjunction with technological acceptance factors on travel review posting intentions

Determinants of intentions to use a pilgrimage app: a cross-cultural comparison

The main aim of this study is to examine which features pilgrims from six nationalities walking the Camino de Santiago most value in a pilgrimage app and to determine which ones most influence intentions to use it. Data were collected through an online questionnaire. The 911 responses were analysed using ANOVA and PLS-SEM. The features related to general information are the strongest predictor of intentions to use a pilgrimage app and there is only one significant difference among nationalities regarding the determinants of intentions to use it. The findings of the study are useful for the development of pilgrimage apps.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Role of Communication Technologies in Restructuring Pilgrimage Journeys

Pilgrimage has evolved alongside the evolution of communication technology. Emergent communication technology is changing how people present themselves and tell others about their experiences, including within the context of pilgrimages. Building upon this recognition, this paper examines how evolving communication technologies have changed pilgrimage using Victor Turner’s concepts of rite of passage and communitas. This conceptual paper recognises that technologies, such as the internet, mobile phones and social media, all influence the three stages of the pilgrimage ritual process: separation, liminality, and reintegration. This paper provides a conceptual clarification of the differences between how the medieval and the 21st Century pilgrims experience and represent rite of passage and define the spirit of community, and position themselves in relation to both. The paper shows that the power of the physical journey clearly remains the same in modern pilgrimages as it was in the medieval era, but the mental journey is meaningfully altered.Using Goffman’s theory of ‘self-presentation’, this paper highlights changes in how pilgrims present themselves and their pilgrimage experiences on social media. In this context, self-presentation is described as the way the pilgrim manages the impressions they make on other people, particularly at the liminal stage. While medieval pilgrims kept diaries, modern pilgrims document their pilgrimage experiences via constant status updates on social media. Social media is an important medium for modern pilgrims to present a certain version of self-identity to other users of sites. This paper emphasises the need for a deeper assessment of the conceptualisation of pilgrimage in the contemporary era as technology creates and facilitates new layers of the pilgrimage experience

Go Digital! Determinants of Continuance Usage of Mobile Payment Apps: Focusing on the Mediating Role of Gamification

Background: COVID-19 spread over the last two years has been instrumental in shifting physical banking transactions to mobile-based banking transactions. Recently, M-payments have dominated online and point-of-sale (POS) transactions in the Asia-pacific region. Therefore, there was a need to study the factors influencing M-payments. This research has been conducted to determine the significant factors influencing the usage and continuance usage of M-payment apps in an emerging country and particularly how gamified features enhance the usage of M-payments apps.is study is based on the perspectives of the Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) and information system success (ISS) theory, and it adds three new determinants—trust, gamified features, and continued use of mobile payments to better explain and forecast users\u27 behavioral intentions and continued use of mobile payment applications (M-payments apps). Method: The research has employed two studies on sample data from young users of M-payment apps (n=898), the dataset was analyzed through structural equation modelling for mediation and moderation analysis in study one. The second study was grounded through Vignette experiments to analyze the effects of the degree of gamified features on the continued usage of M-payments. Results: The results reported that behavioral intention to adopt, and usage of mobile payments are significantly mediated by gamified features and gamified features are partially mediating continuance usage of M-payments. Trust is the key to enabling continuance usage amongst the users of M-payments. These findings extend the understanding of users’ continuance intention in the context of payments apps. Conclusion: This study would be helpful in presenting insights for the M-payments service providers and the associated banks to develop strategy for the continuance usage of mobile payment apps

Novas plataformas de difusão de conteúdos na área do turismo e património

O presente relatório centra-se nas atividades desenvolvidas durante o estágio curricular de Mestrado, com duração de seis meses, no Centro de Criatividade Digital (Escola das Artes da Universidade Católica Portuguesa). O CCD assume-se como um centro de competência e excelência criativa e foi reconhecido, inicialmente, como um dos projetos âncora do Cluster das Indústrias Criativas nas iniciativas da Estratégia de Eficiência Coletiva da ADDICT. O estágio é realizado no âmbito do Projeto POCI-01-0247-FEDER-024498 CHIC – Cooperative Holistic view on Internet and Content, o maior projeto português de I&D na área dos media apoiado pelo COMPETE 2020. O projeto reúne um consórcio alargado, composto por 24 promotores, sendo 14 empresas representativas das diferentes vertentes das indústrias ligadas aos conteúdos digitais e 10 entidades do SCTN que em conjunto reúnem as condições de criar um efeito catalisador sobre os restantes atores deste setor. A participação do CCD é no âmbito da atividade B2 “Gestão de conteúdos pertencentes ao património cultural nacional com base em sistemas abertos de preservação e interação”, integrado no PPS B, que tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de uma plataforma georreferenciada de realidade aumentada capaz de interligar e fidelizar diferentes fontes de informação e utilizadores. Durante o estágio, foi feito o levantamento de aplicações móveis concorrentes do piloto que está em análise e se pretende implementar. Realizou-se uma avaliação crítica das aplicações, de forma a entender as suas funcionalidades e os modelos de negócio. Procurou-se entender, também, os interesses dos seus utilizadores e as caraterísticas mais valorizadas. Fora do âmbito do projeto, foram desenvolvidas outras tarefas no âmbito do estudo de impacto do “Prémio Nacional de Indústrias Criativas 2008-2017”, no exercício da edição do e-book “Estudo sobre as oportunidades para o desenvolvimento do Cluster Criativo de Bandas de Música existente no Centro Comercial Stop”, e no contexto da Porto Summer School on Cinematic Art. Conclui-se o relatório apresentando soluções de implementação para a aplicação móvel em desenvolvimento, assim como, oportunidades de trabalho futuro.This report focuses on the activities developed during a six months internship, at Centro de Criatividade Digital (School of Arts – Portuguese Catholic University). The CCD assumes itself as a center of competence and creative excellence and was initially recognized as one of the Creative Industries Cluster's anchor projects in ADDICT's Collective Efficiency Strategy initiatives. The internship is carried out under the project POCI-01-0247-FEDER-024498 CHIC - Cooperative Holistic view on Internet and Content, the largest Portuguese I&D project in the area of media supported by COMPETE 2020. The project includes a broad consortium composed of 24 promoters, 14 companies representing the different aspects of the industries related to digital content and 10 entities of the SCTN that together are able to create a catalytic effect on the remaining actors in this sector. The participation of the CCD is within the scope of activity B2 "Management of contents belonging to the national cultural heritage based on open systems of preservation and interaction", integrated in PPS B, whose objective is the development of a georeferenced augmented reality platform capable of connecting and retaining different sources of information and users. During the internship, it was made the survey of competing mobile applications of the pilot that is under analysis and intends to implement. A critical evaluation of the applications was carried out in order to understand their functionalities and the business models. It also sought to understand the interests of its users and the most valued features. Out of the scope of the project, other tasks were developed within the impact study of the “Prémio Nacional de Indústrias Criativas 2008-2017”, in the scope of the e-book edition "Estudo sobre as oportunidades para o desenvolvimento do Cluster Criativo de Bandas de Música existente no Centro Comercial Stop", and in the context of Porto Summer School on Cinematic Art. The report concludes by presenting implementation solutions for the mobile application under development as well as future work opportunities

Pilgrims’ Acceptance of a Mobile App for the Camino de Santiago

This study aims to identify which factors affect pilgrim’s intentions to use a pilgrimage app, based on the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2).The empirical results were obtained from a sample of 222 pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago (Saint James’s Way). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling was applied to test the hypothesized relationships of the proposed model. The results indicate that the most important factor affecting intentions to use the app is performance expectancy. Effort expectancy, social influence and hedonic motivations are other determinants of intentions to use a pilgrimage app. Facilitating conditions and habit do not affect intentions to use the app. The results of this study are valuable for a successfully implementation of pilgrimage apps, providing useful insights for pilgrimage app designers

Caminhar na era tecnológica em direção a Santiago de Compostela: Estudo do uso de uma app por parte dos peregrinos

O Caminho de Santiago, sendo uma rota de peregrinação importante para o território Português e Galego, que envolve o ambiente paisagístico e o Património Cultural e Religioso, tem demonstrado uma grande afluência de peregrinos nos últimos anos. Aliado a este contexto, e numa era tecnológica em que se vive, pretende-se estudar o impacto das novas tecnologias neste ambiente de peregrinação da era medieval. Mais concretamente, pretende-se perceber a utilização da tecnologia móvel por parte dos peregrinos durante a realização do Caminho de Santiago, assim como quais as características que consideram importantes para uma aplicação móvel de apoio à peregrinação e se estas têm influência na intenção de uso da mesma. Para o desenvolvimento desta investigação procedeu-se a uma exaustiva revisão da literatura sobre a utilização da tecnologia móvel no setor do Turismo, visto esta se revelar escassa no que concerne à peregrinação. Aliado à revisão da literatura, considerou-se relevante fazer um levantamento dos hábitos dos peregrinos e a utilização da tecnologia durante a peregrinação, realizando-se entrevistas exploratórias a 11 peregrinos que contribuíram para a construção do questionário. Após a realização das entrevistas, foi elaborado um questionário que foi distribuído online. Foram obtidas respostas de 1.140 peregrinos que já tinham realizado o Caminho de Santiago pelo menos uma vez. Em relação ao uso das novas tecnologias no geral, a análise fatorial aplicada revelou que os motivos de utilização de dispositivos móveis durante a peregrinação se podem dividir em quatro categorias: Lazer/informações, comunicar, conveniência e entretenimento. Em relação ao uso de uma aplicação específica sobre o caminho, os resultados mostram que apesar da grande maioria de inquiridos (81%) não ter conhecimento de uma aplicação móvel sobre o Caminho Português, mais de 55% afirmou que a probabilidade de usarem uma aplicação móvel de apoio à peregrinação seria elevada. Para analisar quais as características que os peregrinos mais valorizariam numa aplicação móvel de apoio à peregrinação a Santiago, foram identificadas três categorias de conteúdos através de uma análise fatorial: Características Gerais do Caminho, Características Turísticas e Culturais e Características Religiosas. Por último, aplicou-se uma regressão linear múltipla que revelou que os conteúdos relacionados com o Caminho e com os elementos turísticos e culturais são os que mais influenciam a intenção de uso da app por parte dos peregrinos. Considerando-se este estudo pioneiro no que concerne à utilização da tecnologia móvel por parte dos peregrinos, poderá revelar-se um suporte importante para os programadores de aplicações móveis, bem como para o desenvolvimento de estudos futuros.ABSTRACT: The Camino de Santiago is an important pilgrimage route for Portugal and Galicia, with natural landscapes and Religious and Cultural Heritage that has attracted a growing number of pilgrims in the last years. Considering the technological world that we live in nowadays, the main aim of this research is to understand the impact of mobile technology on a medieval pilgrimage. More specifically, the aim is to understand pilgrims’ use of mobile technology along their pilgrimage of Camino de Santiago, as well as to examine which features are most valued in a pilgrimage app and which features affect the intention to use the app. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, a deep literature review about the use of mobile technology in Tourism was carried out, because there is limited research regarding the use of new technologies by pilgrims. Along with the literature review, it was considered important to employ a qualitative approach to understand the pilgrims’ habits and use of technology along the pilgrimage. Therefore, eleven interviews were conducted to collect information from pilgrims to support the development of the quantitative approach. Based on the literature review and on the interviews conducted, an online questionnaire was than designed and distributed. A total of 1,140 valid responses were obtained from pilgrims who had travelled the Camino de Santiago at least once. Regarding the use of technology in general, a factor analysis was conducted and identified four dimensions of the use of mobile devices during the pilgrimage: leisure/information, communication, convenience and entertainment. Concerning the use of a specific app about the Camino, results revealed that although most of respondents (81%) were not aware of any Camino Portugues de Santiago mobile app, more than 55% consider that the probability of using a pilgrimage mobile application would be high. To examine which features pilgrims most value in pilgrimage app, a factor analysis identified three dimensions: General Way Features, Cultural and Tourist Features and Religious Features. A multiple linear regression was than conducted and revealed that contents about the Camino and about tourist and cultural elements are the most influential determinants of intention of use an app by pilgrims. This study is pioneering in adding understanding of pilgrims’ use of mobile technology and can therefore provide a valuable support to mobile app developers, as well as it can serve as a foundation for future research in this field