Mobile Technology in Tourism Destination Marketing: Mobile Search Best Practices (Tmics)

Tourism destinations face various challenges in the implementation of m-technologies and although mobile applications are used by some destinations, many are in their early stages of development. Few destinations have yet managed to develop credible mobile services. In particular, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are the backbone of the tourism industry, have struggled to embrace new technologies, e.g. e-commerce applications, which has prevented them from benefiting from new technologies. It is unclear which business model will emerge to make mobile services viable. This study aims to explore the way that tourism destinations deal with these issues and will develop a mobile information model integrated with a mobile destination coding system to help tourism stakeholders optimise their exploitation of m-technologies. The major contribution of this research is Tourism Mobile Information Coding System (TMICS) - a mobile coding information system which aims to provide tourists with destination information through their mobile phones. It is anticipated that the new system will enhance tourism destination stakeholders marketing efforts.