“To use or not to use” - Mobile technology in nature-based tourism experience

Nautiyal, Rajesh; Polus, Reni; Tripathi, Animesh; Shaheer, Ismail

Abstract

This study investigates the role of mobile technology in the three stages (pre-visit, during-visit, and post-visit) of nature-based tourism (NBT) experiences. By employing collaborative autoethnography and reflexive thematic data analysis, this research explored the NBT experiences of four researchers who participated in a nature-based trek. The findings revealed that in the pre-visit stage, mobile technologies enhanced the NBT experience by enabling the flow of information for planning and mediating the anticipated experiences. Mobile technologies supported tracking well-being, documenting, and sharing the experience online in the during-visit stage. In the post-visit stage, mobile technologies allowed for reliving, reflecting, and sharing the experience. Using mobile technology in this NBT experience also led to some negative experiences, specifically interruptions that resulted in some participants' inability to truly immerse themselves in the experience. This study adds to the existing body of literature on NBT, highlighting the implications of technology, particularly mobile technology, for NBT experiences that can be capitalised on by visitors and destinations/service providers.

Citation

Nautiyal, R., Polus, R., Tripathi, A., & Shaheer, I. (2023). “To use or not to use” - Mobile technology in nature-based tourism experience. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 43, Article 100667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100667

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 30, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jul 4, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 12, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 15, 2024
• Print ISSN: 2213-0780
• Electronic ISSN: 2213-0780
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 43
• Article Number: 100667
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2023.100667
• Keywords: Mobile technology, Nature-based tourism, Retrospective collaborative autoethnography (RCA), Pre-visit, During-visit, Post-visit