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Dr. Vogt stated, "Not that long ago, travelers would need to find a payphone or send postcards to brag about their vacations. Now they just log on and send photos and text. Our results show clearly how the changing nature of IT [information technology] behavior in everyday life is spilling over into our vacations.”
The study found the following results:
- People using smart phones has tripled.
- People use wireless communications more on vacation, 40%, more than at home, just 25%.
- People used the Internet to plan vacations 80% of the time, as compared to doing work, only 70% of the time.
Vogt stated, "Travelers are using their laptops and phones more often, and not just to plan vacations. Since Wi-Fi is available at most destinations, tourists are checking local weather forecasts, transportation schedules, restaurant recommendations, fishing reports, safe bicycling routes and much more.”
She concludes with, “We hope to conduct more research across the various stages of vacations. This will help vacation service providers better understand what information travelers are looking for during trip planning and how it differs from the details they’re searching for after arrival.”
Learn more at the 6/8/2012 Michigan State University article "More people staying connected on vacation". The paper published by the MSU researchers on vacations and being wireless will appear in the journal Annuals of Tourism Research.
