Location-Based Services in the Tourist Industry

Mobile services available on mobile devices such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants are a suitable instrument for spontaneous, ad-hoc access to information travellers need while being on the move. The supply of mobile services with specific relevance to the traveller is already well developed: Mobile Services allow to book last-minute trips, rental cars and hotels; they provide information about changes and delays of flights and trains and offer guides on restaurants, events and sightseeing opportunities at the destination. The paper shows that integrating Location Based Services (LBS) creates additional value for most of theses products or services. LBS are applications of mobile technology that utilise the information about the location of their user. The four primary functions of LBS for the traveller are: (1) localization of persons, objects and places, (2) routing between them, (3) search for objects in proximity such as restaurants, shops, hotels, or sights, (4) and information about travelling conditions, such as traffic related data.