Tourism in Ireland needs more private sector investment in free Wi-Fi to meet visitors needs and reap the benefit of greater potential tourist spend, according to a senior researcher at IT Sligo.
Dr James Hanrahan, a lecturer in tourism at the Institute, says results from a survey that he conducted into tourist guide usage shows modern communications technology is rapidly expanding the ways tourists get information and creating new social media expectations.
Glossy guide books remain important for most tourists and continue to showcase which tourism providers they should interact with, but the market is changing.
“Visitors in our survey were using the Tripadvisor website and their Smartphones devices to check out where they were going to go,” he says. “Social media allows tourists to put up a picture of where they are. It’s the new post card. They are posting where they are and talking about their experience.”
He advises tourism providers to ensure that their business websites are compatible with Smartphones and internet facilities are fully compatible with the new technology needs of the modern tourist.
And he says it is time to update the traditional mantra of tourist demands to: “A Loo, a View and a Brew — and free Wi-Fi too.”
His survey found that guide books, while often costly, continue to dominate but devices such downloadable travel applications -“travel apps” – , which are often free, are also being used and that their popularity will inevitably increase extensively.
The survey was entitled “An Assessment of Tourist Demand and Use for travel guides: A focus on the use of new technology such as Smartphones and downloadable ‘apps’”.
It was conducted and funded under the Fáilte Ireland Applied Research Scheme. Among many results, the survey found that some visitors found a lack of free Wi-Fi zones in urban Ireland frustrating.
Fáilte Ireland’s director of Marketing, John Concannon, pointed out that the research chimed with current developments on the ground, adding: “When it comes to recommending Ireland as a holiday destination, ‘word of mouse’ is increasingly vying with word of mouth as a principle source of information for overseas visitors as they choose their holiday destination.
“Additionally when here, the 21st century tourist is more hands-on and digitally interactive and has high expectations that they will be able to navigate this country online. With free wifi now available in all 16 of our main regional Tourism Information Offices, we’ve now made it easier for them.
“We have now also just launched a new ‘Discover Ireland’ app that will further enhance that experience. The challenge for us is to continually keep up with all the latest research and ahead of the curve as we compete to attract visitors to these shores.”
In a key recommendation, Dr Hanrahan says: “Key tourist towns should consider creating a social and tourist hub within the community, such as within a mixed commercial residential neighbourhood. Individual businesses with free Wi-Fi zones also stand to benefit.”
Smartphones, mobile phones, downloadable apps, tablets and the latest data game changer, “augmented reality”, are enhancing the tourist experience and adding new layers of information source, he says. “While this rapidly evolving field of next generation travel and tourism related technology is in its infancy, we do know that it is the future of tech travel.”
Dr Hanrahan’s advice is:
‘If you are a tourism operator, put in free Wi-Fi, promote it and let the visitors to your town or premises know that you have it. Create a comfortable dedicated space for visitors to sit down to use because they will want to update their Facebook or send photographs. They might be sending their friends a photo of where they are or even writing a review of their meal. People want to read other people’s reviews and that’s what Facebook messages often are, in effect. They want to do all this and they want to do it in a pleasant environment. Sell your Wi-Fi zone as a tourist attraction and encourage them to use it. If someone sits down in a nice space to get on their iPad or their mobile, they are spending time on your premises and that means they’ll spend money. The longer you can get them to sit in one place, the more opportunity they’ll have to spend money with you.’
Caption for photo above: Dr James Hanrahan.