Location-Based Information Delivery in Tourism - Research Paper Example

? School: Topic: Location Based Information Delivery in Tourism Lecturer: LOCATION BASED INFORMATION DELIVERYIN TOURISM Introduction The phenomenon of global village has not only come about people through the power of the internet, people can be at one point of the world and access information from all other parts of the world. Actually, there is also massive political freedom that has made the physical movement of people from one place of the world to the other very easier (Kjeldskov and Paay, 2005). Such forms of easy movements have made the growth of tourism tripled in the last two decades, observes Schernthanner and Asche (2010). Leading on from here, the number of tourist sites and services that a person may have at disposal upon visiting a single country is so much. In some cases, the planning of tourism trips has become a problem for travelers when it comes to destination and services selection. It is from this point that the need for the use of information and community technology in making the situation easier becomes necessary. This paper therefore looks at the designing of a location based information delivery system that makes it possible for tourists to access information from various tourism locations and also exchange information to such locations to make the reception of tourism services easier. The researcher opines that this location based information delivery in tourism will serve a two-tier purpose of benefiting both the tourist as a service user and the tourism operators as service providers. More specifically, the destination to be used in this location based information delivery is Ottawa in Canada, which is one of Canada’s four largest tourism metropolitan areas (O’Grady and O’Hare, 2002). System Architecture for Location based information delivery system The location based information delivery system that is proposed for use among service providers and service users in Ottawa is a context in mobile tourist information systems. This means that the system functions on the operational values of mobile tourist usage, where it should be possible for a person to access the system from any part of the world without any major limitation. In this context therefore, the system architecture for the location based information delivery system is built based on key parameters that satisfies this provision. In the first place, there is an element of client device that is built to host a web browser. A typical example of such a client device could be a mobile phone, a tablet computer or a laptop (Berger et al, 2007). There is also an element of customized web application server that makes it possible for users to receive and input web contents that meet the context of users. The essence of this element of the system architecture is to ensure that tourists visiting Ottawa have the freedom and will to make choices of selection based on user pre-defined preferences and options (Kjeldskov and Paay, 2005). What is more, it is expected that the system architecture for the location based information delivery system would encompass the presence of a universal description, discovery and integration (UDDI) service directory that focuses on the provision of tourist information services such as hotel accommodation finder services. Such UDDI services would ensure that the search for locations is sieved and made much easier. More to the above, the presence of a context manager is also very important for the system architecture. This is because with such context manager, data that is input into the system can easier be stored for future retrieval and usage. Such data will be treated by the system as user dynamic context so that for all future searches these options will show up as user preferences, making it easier for future choices to be made. It is expected that some of the user dynamic contexts that will be considered by the system would include but not limited to location, wireless device features, identities, password, and data usage (Schernthanner and Asche, 2010). Finally, it is expected that there will be a web service that will be made up of a sample of almost all possible variables of tourist content search for the city of Ottawa. Some of these would include restaurant locations, hotel locations, landmark information, tourist site locations, car park locations, among others. By entering a preamble for search therefore, the web service must be in a position to immediately list all available options for the city of Ottawa. For the sake of universality of the system, it is expected the system architecture for the web service will make use of web service description language (WSDL) document in XML format to ensure that there is an automated description of the web service’s interface to make the establishment of network address position (O’Grady and O’Hare, 2002). User Interface implementation of the system It is expected that the location based information delivery system would be highly user friendly. By this, reference is made to the need for the system to be easily used by new users who are not conversant with such web based systems. At the same time, returning users must not have much difficulty in the usage of the system because there would be much periodic changes in the application of the system that will make the location of preferred tourist destinations difficult instead of easier. As part of the user implementation interface of the system, new users are expected to register or log into the system with their user defined information such as name, location, web device system, and budget. Right after this is done the user must be permitted entry or access to the system by being linked to all the systems of all service providers in Ottawa. At this time, the implication of the system’s usage would be that all service providers will have access to the user; whiles the user gets access to the service user. At this point, the service user would enter preferences of destination that are specific to individual tourist service preferences. For instance a user seeking accommodation services would be guided to making preferences only for accommodation such as bed size, location, price, and other services offered by available hotels. As preferences are made, available matches will be popping up in pictures to make selection even easier. Source: Sharma, Singh and Singh (2012) In the picture above, a user interface screenshot from a mobile phone is provided. This shows how the system focuses primarily on user specification and customized user service to ensure that users have as much preference in the selection of options that meet their tourism needs as possible. After successful selection, there will be a link to the service provider, who would take over with guaranteed web based service. The first process that will be undertaken by the service provider will be focused on securing the authenticity and genuineness of the service that has been sought. This will be undertaken by asking the service user to pay a commitment fee, which is part of total fee into an escrow account. Thereafter, a web guidance service begins, that is focused on getting the customer to the location. This aspect of service will be particularly important for service users who may be visiting Ottawa for the very first time. This is because the service provider must be in a position to issuing out tailored step by step guidance that gets the user to the location. As far as the context and prevailing circumstance Ottawa as a tourism destination is concerned, it would be noted that the system that has been designed meets several factors of successful tourism marketing in the city. Common among these are technological and social advancements that makes the use of web based services of this nature a growing need for the touring population (Berger et al, 2007). Conclusion In conclusion, it can be reiterated that the place of technology and for that matter delivery systems in modern tourism cannot be over emphasized. Through the power of technology and well enhanced location based information delivery system, both service providers and service users stand at an advantage in the usage of information systems in tourism transactions. As competitors increase, the need for industry players to create competitive advantage is very urgent. Through such technological platforms, it becomes easier to be part of the all new electronic commerce system where customers do not have to be physically present to make the transaction of businesses possible. While using location based information delivery systems, service providers are provided the advantage of selling out their rich hospitable services to customers by assisting with reservations services and leading them to their locations successfully. Even more, by use of key information that is given out by the users of the system, service providers are now at a better position to knowing more about the backgrounds of their potential customers so that they would know the best services to issue out to meet the expectations of their clients. Sight must not be lost from the fact that it is when clients are satisfied with services received that they would always want to come back for more services. On the part of tourism service users, the need for them to find their ways to the best and most user curtailed service location has been taken care of today, one does not have to think of getting stranded, all because there is a location based information delivery system that leads the way to providing excellent search services. References Berger H., Dittenbach M., Merkl D., Bogdanovych A., Simoff S., and Sierra C. (2007). Opening new dimensions for e-Tourism. Virtual Reality, 11: 75-87. Kjeldskov J. and Paay J. (2005). Just-for-Us: A Context-Aware Mobile Information System Facilitating Sociality” Salzburg: Mobile HCI Publications O’Grady M. and O’Hare G.M. P. (2002). Accessing Cultural Tourist Information Via A Context-Sensitive Tourist Guide. Information Technology & Tourism, 2(5): 35–47. Schernthanner H., and Asche H. (2010). The Potsdam Housing Market: A GIS-based Spatial Analysis using FOS. Ontario: Alpha Press Limited. Sharma, Singh and Singh (2012). Accessed November 25, 2013 from http://www.techniajournal.com/attachments/article/154/Location%20Based%20Information%20Delivery%20in%20Tourism.pdf Read More