New Technologies in Tourism: Transition from Analogue to Digital Maps

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Purpose. The article discusses the subject of new technologies in tourism, especially the issue of replacing analogue maps with various types of digital ones - webGIS applications, geo-search engines, geoportals, applications containing tourist maps and mobile applications containing interactive maps. The research aimed to find an answer to the question whether we are actually dealing with the dusk of traditional tourism cartography, or if analogue maps are still needed and used. The issue regarding the impact of the geospatial revolution on subsequent stages of activity related to the preparation and completion of a tourist trip/journey was also discussed. Method. A discussion was presented on the role of maps in tourism. The advantages and disadvantages of digital maps, both computer and mobile ones, were evaluated within the context of their use by tourists. Findings. These considerations allowed the conclusion that despite the clear decline in the sales of tourist guides and tourist maps, the widespread availability of various types of computer and mobile applications on the market, it cannot be that we are witnessing the dusk of traditional tourism cartography trying to replace printed materials. Research and conclusions limitations. The theses presented in the article require empirical confirmation on the basis of a larger number of examples. Although the work discusses the advantages and disadvantages of cartographic media within the context of their suitability for tourism, however, conducting research on small trials and the occurrence of very different conditions makes them be contributing in nature. Practical implications. The conclusions from the article form the basis for further research on the use of digital maps and mapping applications in tourism and their usefulness at every stage of a journey. Originality. The originality of the article comes down to two issues. First of all, in the Polish literature on this subject, relatively few authors confront the advantages and disadvantages of analogue maps versus digital ones. Secondly, the texts that have been published on this subject so far draw attention to the above-mentioned problem within the context of the specificity of maps intended for tourists and other maps used by them, only to a negligible extent. Type of work. Review article.