Digital Transformation in the Travel Industry

Paper Title: Digital Transformation in the Travel Industry Research Topic: Slowly and gradually every industry is moving on with the changes of the time, including the travel industry. (Yes! But this statement is overly broad.)And for my final paper, I have chosen the impact of mobile applications in the tourism industry as the focus of my study, due to the shift to mobile technology in recent years. Travel-related mobile applications impact every aspect of the tourism industry, including travel, accommodation and tourist attractions, during the researching and booking process. Throughout this study, I will analyze how mobile applications are changing the tourism industry and the overall touristic experience via digital marketing. (Good! Much more specific.) (Using my outside sources, I will specifically pay attention to the development of sustainable travel and the changing habits during the booking and planning process as many customers now choose to do it through their mobile devices. And finally, I will try to unravel the reasoning behind these behavioral and structural changes.) Keywords: 1-Social and economic mobility 2-Smart tourism 3-Transient development (teach me!) 4-Cultural commodification 5-Cultural commoditization 6-M-traveling (teach me!) Assigned Readings from the Course: Smith, Valene L. Hosts and Guests: the Anthropology of Tourism. Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1997. (Part 1 - Introduction, Ch.1, Ch. 2) -The concept of tourism ,as a form of mobility and leisured activity, suggests that there are specific reasons for leaving home to travel: It structures the personal life cycle to provide alternate periods of work and relaxation. In this part of my study, I will focus on the reasons behind the increasing stimulus for personal travel and analyze the economic bases of tourism in the forms in which it exists today. (Some relevant factors I will consider are; the increasing availability of leisure time [for who?], the change in personal preferences towards lengthened vacations, increasing integration of tourism into the domestic economy, greater discretionary income, and governments’ increasing advocation [not a word-advocacy?] towards tourism.) In a way, I will treat tourism as an organized industry, and analyze its impact on macro and micro levels from economic and sociological perspectives. (Topic has grown too big again-- stay specific! How can you incorporate Smith’s collection of 1970s/1980s essays into a paper about 21st century travel technologies?) Independently Researched Sources: 1-Dickinson, Janet & Ghali, Karen & Cherrett, Tom & Speed, Chris & Davies, Nigel & Norgate, Sarah. (2012). Tourism and the Smartphone App: Capabilities, Emerging Practice and Scope in the Travel Domain. Current Issues in Tourism. -With a growing number of users and a wide variety of applications emerging, smartphones are fundamentally altering our current use and understanding of the transport network and tourism travel. Using this article, I will evaluate the current functionalities used in the domestic tourism travel domain and highlight where the next major developments lie. Then, I will analyze how the smartphones mediates tourism travel and the role it might play in more collaborative and dynamic travel decisions to facilitate sustainable travel. 2-)Silva, A. C., & Rocha, H. V. (2012). M-Traveling: Mobile Applications in Tourism. International Journal for Infonomics, 5(3/4), 618-630. doi:10.20533/iji.1742.4712.2012.0071 -This article presents four study cases done in four cities for one tourist, using a total of 26 mobile applications. Using this article, I will analyze the data collected in those study cases to highlight some important features and some problems in these applications. Good start. 3-Kim, Dongwook & Kim, Sungbum. (2017). The Role of Mobile Technology in Tourism: Patents, Articles, News, and Mobile Tour App Reviews. [name of publication?] -This article shows how advances in mobile technology are expected to foster a sustainable competitive advantage for tourism destinations and tourism-related suppliers, and create sustainable competencies for smart tourism. More importantly, it explores consumers’ attitudes and preferences for mobile travel app using their reviews. Using this article, I will identify the status and role of mobile technology in achieving sustainable and smart tourism. This is a solid start, though you are missing a couple of assigned sources. As you continue researching, you should get a clear sense of which methods of data analysis will be possible. Come see me next week to discuss your progress, and I will do what I can to make sure you succeed with this assignment.