The acceptance of smart technologies in tourist regions with respect to mobility preferences of their visitors

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the smart technology usage among visitors to geographically diverse tourist regions, with regard to travel and mobility and with reference to the existing studies on the (transport) behavior of tourist destination visitors. This paper aims to relate the respondents’ smart technology usage to their transport behavior and to their attitudes towards various transport services and travel characteristics during their stay in the destination, in view of the emerging concepts of smart tourist destinations, smart tourists and smart tourism. The research was carried out on the example of the Northern Adriatic tourist region, on a sample of visitors to island, coastal, and highland destinations. Using the appropriate statistical methods and procedures a profile of the smart technology usage during vacation and travel of tourists and day trippers was obtained. Cross-tabulation is used to perform quantitative analysis of the relationship between variables. Different "shades of smartness" are recorded in the surveyed groups of destination visitors according to characteristic transport behavior and related attitudes. More precisely, the acceptance of smart technologies among visitors in tourist regions with respect to their mobility preferences recognizes statistically significant differences in the tendency to use smart technologies in tourist destinations with regard to: (1) the primary mode of transport used in travelling to the destination, (2) the satisfaction with different travel aspects, and (3) the perceived transport service quality of the various transport sectors.