Usage of Location Based River Cruise Information Systems – Industry Views and User Acceptance

ABSTRACT

Due to rapid development in technological solutions, location-sensitive information services are spreading into more and more fields and markets. Cruise ship travels are one domain for which geo-spatial and cultural information services play an important role in enriching the passengers' experiences. This paper examines, therefore, the information provided online and analyzes the content provided by river cruise operators offering tours along the river Danube. Additionally, RIVERTALE, a location based on-board information system in the stage of a prototype, is evaluated by both tour operators and passengers. Two system variants are considered: a lean-forward kiosk type information system and a lean-back interactive cabin TV information system. The survey among the passengers reveals that there is a strong willingness to use the information service, primarily determined by the perceived usefulness and entertainment of the system. Industry representatives, in contrast, do not recognize such additional information services as urgent and important as their customers.

KEYWORDS:

• Cruise ship
• electronic tourist information system
• location based services

This research was embedded into two studies with financial and organizational support from: Wiener Wirtschaftsförderungsfonds, Niederösterreich Werbung, Wanderman OEG, and Rainer Krankl. We gratefully acknowledge their support and contribution. Parts of this research stem from the IDIOM Project (Information Diffusion across Interactive Online Media; www.idiom.at), which is funded by the Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation & Technology and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency within the strategic objective FIT-IT (www.fit-it.at).