International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Creative Tourism and Mobile Apps: A Comparative Study of Usability, Functionality and Creativity of Travel Apps


Affiliations
1 Universidade Lusófona, Tourism Department, Campo Grande, Lisbon, Portugal and Universidad de Sevilla, Facultad Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Sevilla, Spain
2 Universidade Lusófona, Tourism Department, Portugal
3 Universidade Lusófona, Tourism Department
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


The focus of this paper was to create a quantitative study that would compare Usability, Functionalities and Creativity of a few travel apps in the field of Creative Tourism, in order to understand how they affect Use Intention of travel apps. Thus, a questionnaire was applied to tourists who are travel app users. Among 50 respondents visiting Lisbon, 3 apps were classified, TripAdvisor, Air bnb Experiences and Expedia. The findings reveal that tourists perceive that the touristic experiences they are involved in are creative, however it was not possible to ensure a correlation between Creativity of touristic experiences and App Use Intention. Furthermore, results demonstrate a significant correlation between Usability-Use Intention, and App Functionalities-Use Intention.

Keywords

Creative Experiences, Travel Apps, App Usability, App Functionalities, Use Intention
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Ali, F., Ryu, K., & Hussain, K. (2016). Influence of experiences on memories, satisfaction and behavioral intentions: A study of creative tourism. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 33(1), 85-100. doi:https://doi.org/10 .1080/10548408.2015.1038418

  • Andersson, T. D. (2007). The tourist in the experience economy. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 46-58. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250701224035

  • Baek, T. H., & Yoo, C. Y. (2018). Branded app usability: Conceptualization, measurement, and prediction of consumer loyalty. Journal of Advertising, 47(1), 70-82. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2017.1405755

  • Bangor, A., Kortum, P. T., & Miller, J. T. (2008). An empirical evaluation of the system usability scale. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 24(6), 574-594. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/10447310802205776

  • Binkhorst, E., & Den Dekker, T. (2009). Agenda for co-creation tourism experience research. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 18(2-3), 311-327. doi:https:// doi.org/10.1080/19368620802594193

  • Blapp, M., & Mitas, O. (2018). Creative tourism in Balinese rural communities. Current Issues in Tourism, 21(11), 1285-1311. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2017.1 358701

  • Campbell, C. (2009, August 25). What is Creative Tourism? Catriona campbell - The creative tourism marketing specialist. Retrieved from https://catrionacampbell.wordpress.com/what-is-creative-tourism/

  • Campos, A. C., Mendes, J., Valle, P. O. do, & Scott, N.(2018). Co-creation of tourist experiences: A literature review. Current Issues in Tourism, 21(4), 369-400. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1081158

  • Carson, S., & Pennings, M. (Eds.). (2018). Performing cultural tourism: Communities, tourists and creative practices. Routledge.

  • Cetin, G., & Bilgihan, A. (2016). Components of cultural tourists’ experiences in destinations. Current Issues in Tourism, 19(2), 137-154. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/136 83500.2014.994595

  • Condesso, F. (2011). Desenvolvimento rural, património e turismo. Cuad. Desarro. Rural, 26.

  • Dickinson, J. E., Ghali, K., Cherrett, T., Speed, C., Davies, N., & Norgate, S. (2014). Tourism and the smartphone app: Capabilities, emerging practice and scope in the travel domain. Current Issues in Tourism, 17(1), 84-101. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2012.718323

  • Ek, R., Larsen, J., Hornskov, S. B., & Mansfeldt, O. K. (2008). A dynamic framework of tourist experiences: Space‐time and performances in the experience economy. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 8(2), 122140. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250802110091

  • Engeset, M. G., & Elvekrok, I. (2015). Authentic concepts: Effects on tourist satisfaction. Journal of Travel Research, 54(4), 456-466. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287514522876

  • Fang, J., Li, J., & Wang, R. (2017). Mobile travel apps’ adoption: Integrating perceived characteristics of innovation and software quality. Proceedings of the 2017 International Conference on Software and E-Business - ICSEB 2017, 38-42. doi:https://doi.org/10.1145/3178212.3178213

  • Fang, J., Zhao, Z., Wen, C., & Wang, R. (2017). Design and performance attributes driving mobile travel application engagement. International Journal of Information Management, 37(4), 269-283. doi:https://doi.

  • org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.03.003

  • Filho, L., Batista, J., Cacho, A., & Soares, A. (2017). Mobile applications and tourism: A quantitative study applying the theory of planned behavior. Revista Rosa dos Ventos - Turismo e Hospitalidade, 9(2), 179-199. doi:https://doi.org/10.18226/21789061.v9i2p179

  • Gould, J. D., & Lewis, C. (1985). Designing for usability: Key principles and what designers think. Commun. ACM, 28(3), 300-311. doi:https://doi.org/10.1145/3166.3170

  • Gupta, A., Dogra, N., & George, B. (2018). What determines tourist adoption of smartphone apps? An analysis based on the UTAUT-2 framework. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, 9(1), 50-64. doi:https://doi.

  • org/10.1108/JHTT-02-2017-0013 Hung, W.-L., Lee, Y.-J., & Huang, P.-H. (2016). Creative experiences, memorability and revisit intention in creative tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 19(8), 763-770.

  • doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2013.877422

  • Jelinčić, D. A., & Žuvela, A. (2012). Facing the challenge? Creative tourism in Croatia. Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice, 4(2), 78-90. doi:http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/11705

  • Jia, Z., Li, D., & He, F. (2016). Analysis and reviews on tourism and travel mobile apps of China. Proceedings of the International Conference on Electronics, Mechanics, Culture and Medicine. International Conference on Electronics, Mechanics, Culture and Medicine, Shenyang, China. doi:https://doi.org/10.2991/emcm-15.2016.13

  • Jiang, Y., Ramkissoon, H., Mavondo, F. T., & Feng, S. (2017). Authenticity: The link between destination image and place attachment. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 26(2), 105-124. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080 /19368623.2016.1185988

  • Kennedy-Eden, H., & Gretzel, D. U. (2012). A taxonomy of mobile applications in tourism. Research, 10(2), 5.

  • Kim, D., & Kim, S. (2017). The role of mobile technology in tourism: Patents, articles, news, and mobile tour app reviews. Sustainability, 9(11), 2082. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su9112082

  • Kim, M. J., Chung, N., Lee, C.-K., & Preis, M. W. (2015). Motivations and use context in mobile tourism shopping: Applying contingency and task–technology fit theories. International Journal of Tourism Research, 17(1), 13-24. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.1957

  • Lai, I. K. W. (2015). Traveler acceptance of an appbased mobile tour guide. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 39(3), 401-432. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348013491596

  • Lee, L. S. A., Shaharuddin, S. S., Ng, G. W., & Wan-Busrah, S. F. (2018, February). An Investigation on the Usability of Mobile Travel Guide Application: A Comparison Study [Text]. doi:https://doi.org/info:doi/10.1166/ asl.2018.10677

  • Lee, L. S. A., Shaharuddin, S. S., Ng, G. W., & WanBusrah, S. F. (2017). Co-creation tourism experience in perceived usability of interactive multimedia features on mobile travel application. Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering, 9(2-9).

  • Lim, S. E. Y., & Bouchon, F. (2017). Blending in for a life less ordinary? Off the beaten track tourism experiences in the global city. Geoforum, 86, 13-15. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2017.08.011

  • Lu, J., Mao, Z., Wang, M., & Hu, L. (2015). Goodbye maps, hello apps? Exploring the influential determinants of travel app adoption. Current Issues in Tourism, 18(11), 1059-1079. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1 043248

  • Magano, J., & Cunha, M. Z. N. (2019). Mobile apps and travel apps on the tourism journey. Tourism and Leisure, 8, 17.

  • Marques, L., & Borba, C. (2017). Co-creating the city: Digital technology and creative tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives, 24, 86-93. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2017.07.007

  • Mossberg, L. (2007). A marketing approach to the tourist experience. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 7(1), 59-74. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250701231915

  • Nielsen, J. (1994). Usability engineering. Elsevier.

  • No, E., & Kim, J. K. (2014). Determinants of the adoption for travel information on smartphone. International Journal of Tourism Research. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jtr.1945

  • Park, S., & Santos, C. A. (2017). Exploring the tourist experience: A sequential approach. Journal of Travel Research, 56(1), 16-27. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287515624017

  • Pawlusiński, R., & Kubal, M. (2018). A new take on an old structure? Creative and slow tourism in Krakow (Poland). Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, 16(3), 265-285. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2017.1330338

  • Pine, B. J., Pine, J., & Gilmore, J. H. (1999). The experience economy: Work is theatre & every business a stage. Harvard Business Press.

  • Prahalad, C. K., & Ramaswamy, V. (2004). Co‐creating unique value with customers. Strategy & Leadership. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/10878570410699249

  • Ram, Y., Björk, P., & Weidenfeld, A. (2016). Authenticity and place attachment of major visitor attractions. Tourism Management, 52, 110-122. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.06.010

  • Richards, G. (2011). Creativity and tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(4), 1225-1253. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2011.07.008

  • Richards, G. (2014). Creativity and tourism in the city. Current Issues in Tourism, 17(2), 119-144. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2013.783794

  • Richards, G., & Marques, L. (2012). Exploring creative tourism: Introduction. Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice, 4(2).

  • Richards, G., & Raymond, C. (2000). Creative tourism. ATLAS News, 23(8), 16-20.

  • Richards, G., & Wilson, J. (2006). Developing creativity in tourist experiences: A solution to the serial reproduction of culture? Tourism Management, 27(6), 1209-1223. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2005.06.002

  • Santos, J. F., Carvalho, R., & Figueira, L. M. (2018). A importância do turismo cultural e criativo na imagem de um destino turístico. Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimento, 3(17/18), 1559-1572.

  • Sørensen, F., & Jensen, J. F. (2015). Value creation and knowledge development in tourism experience encounters. Tourism Management, 46, 336-346. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.07.009

  • Stipanović, C., Rudan, E., & Zadel, Z. (2017). The challenges of small enterprises in generating destination creative offer (pp. 579-590). doi:https://doi.org/10.20867/ tosee.04.20

  • Tan, G. W.-H., Lee, V. H., Lin, B., & Ooi, K.-B. (2017). Mobile applications in tourism: The future of the tourism industry? Industrial Management & Data Systems, 117(3), 560-581. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-12-2015-0490

  • Tan, S.-K., Kung, S.-F., & Luh, D.-B. (2013). A model of ‘creative experience’ in creative tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 41, 153-174. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2012.12.002

  • Tan, S.-K., Luh, D.-B., & Kung, S.-F. (2014). A taxonomy of creative tourists in creative tourism. Tourism Management, 42, 248-259. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2013.11.008

  • Tan, S.-K., Tan, S.-H., Luh, D.-B., & Kung, S.-F. (2016). Understanding tourist perspectives in creative tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 19(10), 981-987. doi:https:// doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1008427

  • Tiberghien, G., Bremner, H., & Milne, S. (2017). Performance and visitors’ perception of authenticity in eco-cultural tourism. Tourism Geographies, 19(2), 287-300. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2017.1285958

  • Travelport (2018). Mobile travel trends 2018. Travelport Digital Research. Retrieved from https://travelportdigital.com

  • Ukpabi, D. C., & Karjaluoto, H. (2017). Consumers’ acceptance of information and communications technology in tourism: A review. Telematics and Informatics, 34(5),618-644. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2016.12.002

  • UNESCO Creative Cities Network. (2006). Towards sustainable strategies for creative tourism: Discussion report of the planning meeting for 2008. International Conference on Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice, 4(2), ISSN 1757-031X 90. Creative Tourism Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A. October 25-27, 2006. Retrieved from http://portal.unesco.org/culture/fr/files/34633/11848588553oct2006_meeting_report.pdf/oct2 006_meeting_report.pdf

  • Venkatesh, Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, G. B. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: Toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/30036540

  • Venkatesh, V., & Davis, F. D. (2000). A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: Four longitudinal field studies. Management Science, 46(2), 186-204. doi:https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.46.2.186.11926

  • Venkatesh, V., Thong, J. Y. L., & Xu, X. (2012). Consumer acceptance and use of information technology: Extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. MIS Quarterly, 36(1), 157-178. JSTOR. doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/41410412

  • Virginija, D. J. (2016). Interaction between cultural/creative tourism and tourism/cultural heritage industries. Tourism - From Empirical Research Towards Practical Application. doi:https://doi.org/10.5772/62661

  • Wickens, E. (2017). The consumption of cultural experiences in city tourism. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 17(3),264-271. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358416646606

  • Zhou, Q. (Bill), Zhang, J., Zhang, H., & Li, X. (Robert). (2018). Is all authenticity accepted by tourists and residents? The concept, dimensions and formation mechanism of negative authenticity. Tourism Management, 67, 59-70. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.12.024


Abstract Views: 147

PDF Views: 0




  • Creative Tourism and Mobile Apps: A Comparative Study of Usability, Functionality and Creativity of Travel Apps

Abstract Views: 147  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Álvaro Dias
Universidade Lusófona, Tourism Department, Campo Grande, Lisbon, Portugal and Universidad de Sevilla, Facultad Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Sevilla, Spain
Júlia Melo
Universidade Lusófona, Tourism Department, Portugal
Mafalda Patuleia
Universidade Lusófona, Tourism Department

Abstract


The focus of this paper was to create a quantitative study that would compare Usability, Functionalities and Creativity of a few travel apps in the field of Creative Tourism, in order to understand how they affect Use Intention of travel apps. Thus, a questionnaire was applied to tourists who are travel app users. Among 50 respondents visiting Lisbon, 3 apps were classified, TripAdvisor, Air bnb Experiences and Expedia. The findings reveal that tourists perceive that the touristic experiences they are involved in are creative, however it was not possible to ensure a correlation between Creativity of touristic experiences and App Use Intention. Furthermore, results demonstrate a significant correlation between Usability-Use Intention, and App Functionalities-Use Intention.

Keywords


Creative Experiences, Travel Apps, App Usability, App Functionalities, Use Intention

References