Evaluating the Potential of Mobile Technology in Tourism Destination Marketing
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Evaluating the Potential of Mobile Technology in Tourism Destination Marketing By Mohamed Ali Yousef Moustafa, BSc., MSc. Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2011 Supervised by Dr. Jason Williams, Richard Adlam and Professor Eleri Jones Cardiff School of Management, Western Avenue, Cardiff, UK, CF5 2YB Declaration DECLARATION I declare that this work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted for any other degree. I further declare that this thesis is the result of my own independent work and investigation, except where otherwise stated (a bibliography is appended). Finally, I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and abstract to be made available to outside organizations. Mohamed Ali Yousef Moustafa (candidate) ------------------------------------------------ Dr. Jason Williams (Director of Studies) ------------------------------------------------- Mr. Richard Adlam (Supervisor) -------------------------------------------------- Prof. Eleri Jones (Supervisor) --------------------------------------------------- i Dedication DEDICATION The work is dedicated to my honourable mother and father, my dear wife Mona and my lovely daughter Haneen ii Acknowledgment ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like primarily to praise and thank ALLAH, the most Gracious and the most Merciful, who gave me the ability to complete this work. This thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of the kind people around me. I would like to extend my thanks to all individuals who stood by me throughout the years of my study, but I wish to particularly mention a number of people who have had a profound impact on my work. I would like to express my deepest gratitude and sincere thanks to my director of studies Dr. Jason Williams for his support, assistance and professional guidance continuing throughout this journey; my supervisor Richard Adlam for his dedication, intellectual advice and efforts. Their understanding, motivation and personal guidance have been really inspirational. Above all, I am heartily thankful to my supervisor, Prof. Eleri Jones, whose encouragement, guidance and support from start to end enabled me to develop my research skills and understanding of the subject. Her wealth of knowledge, sincere advice and friendship with her students made this research fruitful as well as enjoyable. I would like to present my sincere thanks and appreciation to all experts who participated in this research for their time and their input. Indeed, I would like also to thank all staff members and colleagues of the Cardiff School of Management for their cooperation, best wishes and pleasant interaction since the first day of this journey. They made it worthwhile. Last but by no means least, my special thanks goes to my country Egypt for sponsoring me during the study of this PhD here in the UK. Also, I owe my deepest gratitude to my parents, my dear wife Mona, and my daughter Haneen and my brothers and sisters for their unconditional support and patience from the beginning to the end of my study. iii Abstract ABSTRACT Tourism destinations face various challenges in the implementation of m- technologies and although mobile applications are used by some destinations, many are in their early stages of development. Few destinations have yet managed to develop credible mobile services. In particular, small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), which are the backbone of the tourism industry, have struggled to embrace new technologies, e.g. e-commerce applications, which has prevented them from benefiting from new technologies. It is unclear which business model will emerge to make mobile services viable. This study aims to explore the way that tourism destinations deal with these issues and will develop a mobile information model integrated with a mobile destination coding system to help tourism stakeholders optimise their exploitation of m- technologies. This research comprised two phases. Phase one aimed to explore organizations that had implemented m-technologies. It employed a case study methodology utilising a variety of methods (semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis). Phase two aimed to design a destination mobile information coding system. To achieve this paper prototyping interviews with m-technology and tourism experts were used. Phase one involved two case studies: Innsbruck as a case study for a tourism destination that had already implemented many m-technology applications for visitors; Cardiff Bus and Traveline as organizations that had implemented m- technologies. Cross-case analysis informed the development of a model for tourism destination stakeholders, particularly SMEs, to encourage better m- technology practices in tourism destination marketing. It concludes with a model for mobile information provision for tourism destination. The major contribution of this research is Tourism Mobile Information Coding System (TMICS) - a mobile coding information system which aims to provide tourists with destination information through their mobile phones. It is anticipated that the new system will enhance tourism destination stakeholders marketing efforts. iv Contents CONTENTS Declaration i Dedication ii Acknowledgments iii Abstract iv Contents v List of Tables ix List of Figures x List of Abbreviations xii Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Background 3 1.3 Research Problem 7 1.4 Research Questions 8 1.5 Research Aim and Objectives 8 1.6 The Structure of the Thesis 9 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 17 2.2 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 17 2.2.1 E-Commerce 19 2.2.2 Mobile Commerce 23 2.2.3 Mobile and Wireless Technologies 25 2.3 Tourism Destinations and ICT 31 2.3.2 Destination Management 34 2.4 The Role of ICT Applications in Tourism 45 2.4.1 Destination Management Systems (DMSs) 47 2.4.2 Mobile Technologies in the Tourism Industry: A new 56 phenomenon 2.5 A Unified Conceptual Model for Mobile Technology in Tourism 60 Marketing Destination Chapter Three: Research Approach 3.1 Introduction 67 3.2 Research Design: Qualitative versus Quantitative 67 3.3 Theoretical Approach 69 3.3.1 Thesis Epistemology – Constructionism 70 3.3.2 Theoretical Perspective – Interpretivism 71 3.4 Practical Approach 72 3.4.1 Research methodology - Case study 73 3.4.2 Research methods and techniques 75 3.5 Sampling 86 3.5.1 Sampling for Phase One 87 3.5.2 Sampling for Phase Two 89 v Contents 3.6 Data Analysis 91 3.7 Validity and Reliability 93 3.7.1 Validity 93 3.7.2 Reliability 94 3.8 Generalisability 95 3.9 Summary 97 Chapter Four: Case Studies of Mobile Technology Implementation: Mobile Innsbruck and Cardiff Bus 4.1 Introduction 100 4.2 Mobile Innsbruck 100 4.2.1 The Vision of Mobile Technology from a Destination 101 Prospective 4.2.2 Destination Stakeholders and the Development of Mobile 102 Services 4.2.3 Innsbruck Mobile 104 4.3 A Brief History of Cardiff Bus 107 4.4 Cardiff Bus and ICT 108 4.4.1 Cardiff Bus‟ Real-Time Information System 109 4.4.2 Cardiff Bus SMS Service 111 4.5 Traveline‟ s Integrated Transport Information System 112 4.5.1 Telephone Service 113 4.5.2 Internet Service 114 4.5.3 Traveline SMS Service 118 4.5.4 NEXT BUSES: WAP Mobile Application 125 4.5.5 Issues Affecting the Traveline Integrated Transport Information 128 System 4.6 Cross-case Analysis and Discussion 134 4.6.1 Tourism Destinations and the Adoption of Mobile Technology 134 4.6.2 Lessons from the Case Studies for the Implementation of 137 Mobile Information Applications 4.6.3 Electronic and Mobile information Applications Barriers 141 4.6.4 Revised Model 147 4.7 Summary 151 Chapter Five: Foundation of Tourism Mobile Information Coding System (TMICS) 5.1 Introduction 155 5.2 Tourism Products 155 5.2.1 Classification of Tourism Services 156 5.3 Examples of Classification of Tourism Services through Electronic 159 Means 5.3.1 Expedia.co.uk 160 5.3.2 Lastminute.com 162 5.3.3 VisitBritain Mobile Guide Application 164 5.4 Coding System 174 5.4.1 Definition of Coding 175 5.4.2 Classification of Coding Systems 176 vi Contents 5.5 Examples of Coding Systems 177 5.5.1 Car Number Plates 177 5.5.2 Cardiff Bus Coding System 180 5.5.3 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Airport Codes 181 5.6 Initial Tourism Mobile Information Coding System (TMICS) 183 5.6.1 Classifications of Tourism Mobile Information Services. 183 5.6.2 Tourism Mobile Information Services Coding System 185 5.7 Summary 189 Chapter Six: Evaluating TMICS using a Paper Prototype 6.1 Introduction 192 6.2 Paper Prototyping Methods 192 6.2.1 Creating Paper Prototypes 193 6.2.2 Implementing paper prototypes 195 6.3 TMICS Paper-Prototyping method 195 6.3.1 Proposed TMICS (early stage) 196 6.3.2 User Profiles 197 6.3.3 Prototype Creation 197 6.3.4 Presenting Paper-Prototype 199 6.3.5 Paper-Prototype Refining (piloting) 205 6.4 Summary 208 Chapter Seven: TMICS Usability Test Issues 7.1 Introduction 211 7.2 User Knowledge When Using Mobile Information Search 211 Applications 7.2.1 Tourism Services Classification (Places to visit) 212 7.2.2 Historical Process of Information Gathering 213 7.2.3 Role of Mobile Applications as Tool to Obtain Information 215 7.3 Process of Use 219 7.3.1 Physical Actions 219 7.3.2 Poster Issues 222 7.3.3 Codes Issues 229 7.4 Content and Classification of Information 232 7.4.1 Content Issue 232 7.4.2 Classification Issues 237