Customization and augmentation of experiences through mobile technologies: A paradigm shift in the analysis of destination competitiveness

• Published in: Tourism economics : the business and finance of tourism and recreation 2019-08, Vol.25 (5), p.661-669
• Main Authors: Shoval, Noam, Birenboim, Amit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Competitiveness; Consumers; Customer satisfaction; Destinations; Differentiation; Happiness; Paradigms; Spatial analysis; Spatial resolution; Subjective experiences; Technological change; Tourism; Tourist attractions; Tourists
• ISSN: 1354-8166; 2044-0375
• DOI: 10.1177/1354816618806428

Happiness and subjective experiences receive growing attention in the business and economic literature as a central force that determines consumer satisfaction. This process is supported, to a great deal, by technological developments in the form of portable and ubiquitous information, communication, and location technologies. In this article, we argue that the interaction of tourists with the destination is becoming mediated through technological apparatuses and thus products that are being consumed are becoming increasingly personalized. We call for a paradigmatic shift in the analysis of tourist experience and destination competitiveness which should build on the following four elements: (1) utilizing advanced methodological tools that rely on mobile and sensor technologies, (2) adopting disaggregated research approach toward experiences, (3) employing high spatial resolution analysis to allow a precise investigation of content- and place-specific experiences, and (4) avoiding the traditional differentiation between destinations as suppliers of attractions and tourists as passive consumers.