Mobile Airline Services

Διπλωματική εργασία--Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας, Θεσσαλονίκη, 2010.Τα τελευταία χρόνια παρατηρείται ραγδαία αύξηση των mobile υπηρεσιών στο χώρο των αεροπορικών εταιρειών, καθιστώντας όλες τις συναλλαγές και τις διαδικασίες πολύ πιο προσιτές και εύκολες για τους εκάστοτε πελάτες και ταξιδιώτες. Στην παρακάτω εργασία γίνεται μια ανάλυση των mobile υπηρεσιών (m.s.) που χρησιμοποιούνται απο τις αεροπορικές εταιρείες σε όλον τον κόσμο. Τέλος παρουσιάζονται τα σημαντικότερα ευρήματα της έρευνας που έγινε σε ένα ικανοποιητικό αριθμό φοιτητών αναφορικά με την αντίδρασή τους σχετικά με την εισαγωγή όλων των mobile υπηρεσιών στις ελληνικές αεροπορικές εταιρείες, καθώς και το κατα ποσο χρήσιμη και αναγκαία θεωρούν αυτην την εισαγωγή

Mobile Services for the Hospitality Industry

Mobile services appear to be an obvious choice for travel and tourism as the travellers are on the move, which is the first criterion for mobile services to be relevant. The travel and tourism industry, which is one of the largest and most rapidly expanding industries in the world and one of the significant users of ICT in its operations, will no doubt be an important market place for mobile services. Nevertheless, according to a study we conducted in 2003, only a few of the respondents were using mobile services to support their travel but many expressed their intention to use these services when they become viable for them. The travel and tourism industry has seen many dramatic changes within the last decade because of the possibilities offered through the wired internet. When mobile services start to offer an effective alternative to presently used routines and services it is expected that they will have a profound impact on the business models of the travel and tourism industry. The available mobile services in the hospitality industry are not as many and as value-adding as expected and we contrast them with the travellers’ attitudes and expectations in an empirical study. The results and insights collected while studying travellers were later used to build a mobile booking system prototype for a major hospitality chain in Finland

“Albergo Diffuso” Model for the Analysis of Customer Satisfaction

This paper focuses on assessing the level of satisfaction of customers that had spent some part of their holidays in an eco-way style. This is an innovative form of hospitality that is represented by the “Albergo Diffuso”. The connection between this sustainable tourism model and the customers wellbeing is based on concepts which are directly connected with sustainability and environment in a rural destination. The data are related to 450 reviews which were selected randomly from two websites of reviews and are about 15 different Hotels (Albergo Diffuso model). The methodology of content analysis, with a successive application of regression model, has been used to understand the factors that influence the tourist’s opinion. It also identifies the role ofsustainability, innovation, and tradition for customers that spend their holiday in ADs. The hypotheses tested in the paper are associated with the features of the literature and the link with sustainability of this model. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the customers satisfaction factors of a new tourist model which is quite diffused in Italy and other parts of the world. This will help to understand if the elements highlighted in the literature are consistent with the reviews or if there are other factors. For example, the provision of physiological and safety needs are more important for tourists

The role of information and communications technology in supporting sustainable tourism: in-trip tourists perspectives

The aim of this research was to examine the factors influencing in-trip tourists' adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) tools/applications which support sustainable tourism. While ICT is a source of competitive advantage for businesses, there is limited research on how ICT can be used to support sustainable tourism development. At the same time, there has been greater consumer awareness about sustainable tourism but a challenge in translating this knowledge into action. This thesis therefore sought to explore and integrate these complementary elements. The study adopted a sequential mixed methods approach. Phase 1 employed an e-survey among sixty-six (66) eTourism experts, while Phase 2 of the study involved thirty (30) semi-structured face-to-face interviews with leisure tourists in the city of Edinburgh. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used to analyse Phase 1 and thematic analysis for Phase 2. The findings from the survey demonstrated that location based services were identified amongst the main ICT applications to support sustainable tourism. Geo-caching, ambient intelligence and context aware applications were among the new or emerging applications that eTourism experts felt were likely to change the way tourists experience a destination in the future. The interviews demonstrated that social connectedness motivated the use of in-trip ICT with social media being the primary platform. Mobile value elements, personal innovativeness and perceived enjoyment were postulated as influencing use behaviour. The results also illustrated the need for destinations to mix new media with some traditional strategies based on the destination's info-structure, tourists' source markets, tourists' profiles and sources of in-trip information. This thesis has made an original contribution to knowledge by examining the actual use of in-trip ICTs by tourists in relation to sustainable tourism. Future research needs to explore and measure how perceived enjoyment, personal innovativeness and mobile value elements influence technology use behaviour.sub_behunpub1615_ethesesunpu

An Investigation into Information and Communication Technologies-Based Applications for Sustainable Tourism Development of Destinations

Sustainable tourism is a heavily researched concept but in reality there has been limited implementation of the principles and practices of sustainable tourism for destinations. Adopting a destination focused perspective, this thesis presents research which expounded Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a practical, new and innovative approach to sustainable tourism development i.e. computer-supported sustainability. A literature review revealed that there was no specific study focusing on the uses and applications of ICT for sustainable tourism development despite the mention and benefits of doing so. However it did identify that several opportunities existed in destination management for using ICT as well as a collection of ICT-based tools/applications which can be used for managing different aspects of sustainable tourism. Therefore an investigative analysis was necessary in building a solid body of work on the uses and applications of ICT for sustainable tourism as a practical approach for destination managers. These findings formed the input for the primary research which was conducted in two phases: surveys administered to destination managers and eTourism experts followed by semi-structured interviews with experts in this domain identified from the surveys. The primary research alongside the literature findings led to the development of a descriptive framework which identified, categorised and described the uses of these ICT-based tools/applications for managing tourism's impacts. Assessment procedures based on the sustainability goals of the destination were then developed in order assist destination managers selecting the ICT-based tools/applications that were best suited for managing the sustainable tourism development of their destinations. The conclusion of this research clearly identifies that destination managers' sophisticated application of ICT to sustainable tourism is the next logical and practical step they can take in making sustainable tourism a workable reality for their destinations. This research is the building block for prospective research in the ICT-sustainable tourism domain. Future research avenues would be to use the results presented to determine the suitability, applicability and feasibility of the ICT-based tools/applications presented for destination managers. This existing research can be used to develop a more co-ordinated approach to theory development and engage in more empirical research to address tourism challenges with regards to using ICT for sustainable tourism development.sub_behunpub150_ethesesunpu

Projeto de Desenvolvimento de um Sistema de Gestão de Destinos (SGD): O Caso das Entidades Regionais de Turismo em Portugal

Enquadramento: O presente projeto de investigação surge num contexto onde as tecnologias estão cada vez mais enraizadas nas sociedades e onde a web se tornou no canal preferido de distribuição para uma boa parte das Organizações de Gestão de Destinos (OGDs) e dos consumidores finais (Butler, 2002; Gretzel, Yuan, & Fesenmaier, 2000; Kramer, Modsching, ten Hagen, & Gretzel, 2007). As novas Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TICs) afiguram-se, assim, como uma das áreas mais críticas para o sucesso do turismo, no presente e no futuro, sendo vitais para a forma como se promovem os destinos turísticos (Machado & Almeida, 2010). Descrição: Pretende-se apresentar uma proposta extensiva de desenvolvimento de um Sistema de Gestão de Destinos (SGD), de âmbito regional, devidamente orçada e economicamente viável, para ajudar as OGDs na gestão, promoção e distribuição holística do destino turístico Portugal. Objetivos: Desenvolvimento sustentável e integrado dos destinos turísticos portugueses, a nível regional; aposta nos canais digitais como forma de adaptação às novas tendências de mercado no setor do turismo; envolvimento de todos os stakeholders no projeto (entidades públicas e privadas), por forma a aumentar os índices de coesão nos destinos turísticos; satisfação das necessidades de planeamento e de reserva dos potenciais turistas/visitantes; e incremento da qualidade geral da experiência turística no destino Portugal. Investigação Empírica: Parte 1 – Realização de um estudo Delphi, com a participação de um painel de 12 especialistas nas áreas do turismo e das TICs, para aferição e hierarquização das principais barreiras à adoção de SGDs; Parte 2 – Estudo avaliativo da eficácia dos websites oficiais das 5 Entidades Regionais de Turismo (ERTs) portuguesas, por intermédio do modelo adaptado de ICTRT (na versão de Charoula et al., 2014), aplicado por um avaliador externo recrutado para o efeito. Resultados e Conclusões: Identificaram-se e hierarquizaram-se 55 barreiras à adoção de SGDs, para a realidade portuguesa; apresentaram-se e escrutinaram-se os índices de eficácia dos websites oficiais das 5 ERTs em Portugal; e apresentou-se uma proposta de desenvolvimento de um SGD devidamente orçada e economicamente viável. No final, discutiram-se os principais resultados, teceram-se considerações gerais sobre o projeto e enunciaram-se as principais limitações e possíveis futuras linhas de investigação