Uses and practices of digital services in a situation of mobility: evolution versus revolution? The case of the Champs Elysées

Abstract

ABSTRACT The ongoing digital revolution is transforming economic production systems as well as our daily lives. If the expectancies in terms of innovation and opportunities are very high on the supply side, little is known about the effective uses of digital tools by customers and the impact on them and their consumption patterns, especially in a situation of mobility. Tourism for example has been tremendously impacted by the digital transformation. It has changed the way people plan, book and travel, but also the way the stakeholders communicate on their destination. But it is also expected that mobile and wireless technologies change the tourist experience of the destination. Mobile devices could induce change in tourist behaviour at the last minute in situ. By using an analysis in terms of services, we suggest that suppliers and tourists in territories coproduce M-tourism services. These services depend on the tourist behaviour but also on the supply, which is available in the destination. Drawing on a survey conducted on the Champs Elysées in Paris in 2018, this paper analyses how different types of people (tourists, residents, workers, etc.) are using these digital services.