GPS is a relatively old technology but it is continually being upgraded and incorporated into new business ventures that change the way business is conducted. There is no clearer indication that this technology is here to stay than to look at its growth in the Tourism industry. But to first understand why the growth of this technology is happening we must understand it.
Innovation Description:
GPS, developed by the United States Department of Defense, is a satellite-based navigation system that can generally pinpoint the users' location within 15 meters. GPS uses signals from 3 or more satellites to determine the users location; it updates a traveler's position and gives information about the track and speed of a journey, usually providing a cartographic feature that displays the position on an electronic chart.
As many as 30 GPS satellites, flying at altitudes near 20,000 km, emit coded, high-frequency radio signals that contain information about their exact orbits and the time of their on board atomic clocks. The GPS receiver compares arrival times from 3 of these satellites, and measures time delays between the satellites' emissions and the GPS' reception to determine the location of the GPS user by a process of triangulation.
Rate of Growth:
That means that anywhere you are on this globe your position can be pinpointed within about 10-15 meters. This is exceptional news for businesses in almost every sector of the tourism industry but I wish to highlight a few examples:
Transportation: Has been incorporated into rental vehicles for all purposes of travel (highway, city, back country and off-road). There are only a few companies such as Gypsy in Canada that gives its consumers audio commentary, exact directions, images as well as recommendations for restaurants and hotels, shopping, ect....Once this gets moved to the mass market, self guided tours will become the way to travel, at your own leisure without the annoying large tour groups and frustration that missing your turn can cause. This technology gives round trip guidance with up to date business information. Geovative.com also allows you to create your own route and upload it onto any compatible device so they can be highly customized for any trip.
Tour Directing: There is a company out of Markham, Ont. called Audioconexus, a Media and Entertainment company, that helps tourism attractions and sightseeing companies increase sales and attract new customers from key domestic and international markets, enhancing vacation experiences by providing market leading location specific, GPS (Global Positioning System) guided audio tours in multiple languages and/or topics simultaneously.
Adventure Travel: This technology maybe has the greatest growth potential for travelers entering the back country. Anywhere from hiking, trekking, mountain biking, skiing, sailing, or just nature viewing, this technology allows average people to access trail and area information in detail as though they had been navigating them their entire lives. How many times have you been on a hike and asked yourself, geez, I wonder where that trail leads....or maybe not even had the courage to undertake a trip into the bush because they are not confident enough in their navigational skills or simply have no idea where to go on trip.
Potential Impact on the Tourism Industry:
The growth in this technology is also being pushed faster now that it has been shown to increase sales of companies that have used GPS as well as companies that advertise along with it. Google maps and yahoo are selling space to companies that want to get recognition when travelers are browsing the maps, passing them by, or asking for recommended businesses on a certain topic. There is new GPS technology that is being developed in France by a company called Webrasca and they offer:
SmartZone Geospatial Platform (SGP) today stands as the most powerful and reliable platform performing a comprehensive set of services including geocoding, reverse geocoding, mapping, vector mapping, routing and local search.SGP is marketed in ASP mode or licensed to large service providers such as mobile carriers, Internet portals and fleet operators. Major SGP customers include Yahoo!, Nextel, Qualcomm, companies of the Vodafone and Orange groups in Europe, Slovenian mobile operator Mobitel, Terralink (New Zealand), and Sensis, a subsidiary of Telstra, Australia.
Once this product hits stores in 2009 it will be able to be added on every cell phone and the number of people who will use this technology will be astronomical. I watched a segement on this product on the BBC news just the other day and it was absolutely incredible. They integrated technology with architects, land developers, suppliers, real estate companies, ect... and have generated a 3-D map of France that is so detailed you can see the designs of every building, house, park, mountain in the entire country. Its mind boggling to think of the possibilities that this type of innovation will provide the tourism when it becomes available to the market.
Overall, this technology has already changed the playing field of tourism businesses as the ones who have adapted and are the cutting edge of this will be leaders in the marketplace tomorrow. The ones who don't get on board soon will have some major catching up to, as this will likely transcend through all levels of tourism.
References:
1. (2007). Webraska Mobile Technologies. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from Products Web site: http://www.webraska.com/Products/
2. GeoTours Mobile Review, (2008). Retrieved February 12, 2008, from Travel By GPS.com Web site: http://www.travelbygps.com/software.php
3. AudioConexus, Inc., (2007). What We Do. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from AudioConexus Web site: http://www.audioconexus.com/venues/whatwedo/index.php
4. Cozzens, T. (August, 2007). Are We There Yet? GPS a Tourism Hit. GPS World, Retrieved February 10, 2008, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BPW/is_8_18/ai_n19480358
5. (December 23, 2007). Using GPS to take tourism home business to the nest level. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from PowerhomeBiz Web site: http://www.powerhomebiz.com/News/122007/gps-tourism-tech.htm
6. Geovative Solutions (2008). Products. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from Geovative Solutions Web site: http://www.geovative.com/products.asp
7. GPS Tours Canada, Inc. (2008). Gypsy Guide. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from GPS Tours Canada Web site: http://www.gpstourscanada.com/
8. Nash, P. (2007). Retrieved February 12, 2008, from Gypsy Documentation Web site: http://palgar.sourceforge.net/gypsy-doc.html
9. The Natural Tourist, Trails (2007). GPS - Technology for the Adventure Traveler. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from Canoe.ca Web site: http://www.naturaltourist.com/content/content.asp?CID=488&LID=11&CGYID=32
No comments:
Post a Comment