How does mobile technology impact your vacation? Mobile technology, apps and the Internet of things provide the most customizable travel services imaginable.

1. Mobile Technology:
The most essential travel tool

2. “Mobile services are no longer the sole
purview of high-income earners”(9)

3. Mobile technology plays a role in planning,
booking, organizing and customizing travel.

4. “Mobile vacation bookings increased
by 20% in the first half of 2014”(5)

5. “Smartphones are like Personal Assistants.”
Connected to the Internet of Things the
smartphone’s possibilities are endless.(5,7)

6. The Internet of
Things is made
plausible by low-
cost sensors
and new
wireless
technologies.(1)

7. According to Raymone Kollau “Technology
is a pretty low-cost way to improve service”(11)

8. iBeacons use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
to transmit signals between the user’s
smartphone and the desired object. (12)

9. Taxi! The UBER app uses iBeacon
technology to locate the closest ride.(11)

10. In the airport, iBeacon push
notifications assist passengers
to locate their departure gate,
and track their luggage.(8)

11. Accommodation providers are also
finding new ways to use technology to
engage with their guests.(13)

12. “More than 65% of people who book a
hotel room within 24hrs of their stay
do so from a mobile device.”(2)

13. Carnival Cruise Line’s “HUB”
app provides guest with
services onboard and ashore.(5)

14. Radio Frequency
Identification Devices
(RFID’s) are proving
beneficial for the travel
and tourism industry.(6)

15. The RFID market is projected to increase
from $8.81B in 2014 to $27.31B in 2024.(6)

16. Wearable RFID’s provide
users with a more intimate
relationship with the venue.(10)

17. “RFIDs in the form of tickets used for transit
will demand 700 million tags in 2014.”(6)

18. People use mobile technology to connect
with family & friends while traveling.

19. Social media outlets provide travelers with
transient ways of allowing their friends and
family to “socially snack” on their journey.(3)

20. Snapchat provides
a less passive,
more active
personal approach, that
demands the attention
of the receiver. (3)

21. It’s important to take a break from technology
to relax, unwind, and enjoy the vacation.(14)

22. Works Cited
1. Arlen, Gary. The Internet of things: looking ahead to an interconnected world. Multichannel News. 24 Feb 2014.
2. Biggars, Ashley. What are the best last-minute hotel booking apps? Outside. 1 August 2014.
3. Boyd, Danah. Why Snapchat is Valuable: It's All About Attention. LinkedIn. 21 March 2014.
4. Clarkmarch, Nicola. Airlines Use Digital Technology to Get Even More Personal. The New York Times. 17 March
2014.
5. Corbat, Alison. Travel Marketers Put Personalization Back on the Map in 2015. Verve. Feb 2015.
6. Das, Raghu, Peter Harrop. RFID Forecasts, Players and Opportunities 2014-2024. IDTechEx. July 2014.
7. Islam, Nayeem, Roy Want. Smartphones: Past, Present, and Future. Pervasive Computing. 89-92, 2014.
8. Kohne Markus, Jurgen Sieck. Location-based Services w/ IBeacon Technology. 2014 2nd International
Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Modelling and Simulation. 315-321. 18-19 November 2014
9. MacKay Kelly, Christine Vogt. Information technology in everyday and vacation contexts. Annals of Tourism
Research. 39(3) 1380-1401, July 2012.
10. Madden, Sean. Tech That Tracks Your Every Move Can Be Convenient, Not Creepy. WIRED. 10 Mar 2014.
11. McFarland, Matt. The rise of iBeacons, and fall of friction. The Washington Post. 12 February 2014
12. Newman, Nic. Apple iBeacon technology briefing. Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice. 3, 222-
225. January2014.
13. Sommerville, Liz. Tech Savy. Home Design Exposition and Conference. Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las
Vegas. May 13-15, 2015.
14. Turkle, Sherry. The Flight From Conversation. The New York Times. 22 April 2012.
Photo Credits: Heather L. MacArthur