The synergy of smartphone, mobile applications (apps) and Augmented Reality (AR) technology has the potential to mediate tourism experiences to great extents. The advent of AR apps on smartphones provides a dynamic solution for tourists by helping convey destinations’ meanings and creates positive experiences via interactive tourist information and services almost anywhere, anytime. As a result, tourists are increasingly using AR travel apps at destinations to create more memorable travel experiences. Despite vast literature on tourists’ experiences, there is limited research focusing on understanding the use of smartphones and AR apps for tourism. A critical review of the literature indicates that there is a need to develop a richer theoretical framework that describes the use of smartphones and AR apps for travel. In addition, there is a need to understand tourists’ experiences with smartphone-mediated technology. In particular, literature on understanding of the use of smartphones and apps for travel is largely established from a quantitative perspective, and it is argued that this perspective cannot provide an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms that affect the use of smartphones and travel apps, which in turn shapes the travel experience. The present qualitative study was designed to understand the current use and possible benefits of smartphone-mediated tourism experiences with AR apps. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of AR apps on tourists’ experiences. The study sought to understand how tourists used AR apps, which specific interactions with the mobile devices were afforded, what emotions were evoked through interaction with the AR technology, and how the technology mediated tourist’s experiences. Based on this notion, the study attempted to generate an inductive middle-range theory on smartphone-mediated tourism experiences using grounded theory method. An iPhone AR app was developed for the Texas A&M University campus to better understand how tourists used the AR app and how this use influenced their travel experiences. Forty-four participants inclusive of students, prospective students and visitors of Texas A&M University were recruited for the study. To aid theory building and enhance the solidity of the smartphone-mediated travel experience theory, the study included a control group, which involve individual, group and guided tours that only use a brochure/campus booklet or listen to a human tour guide. The AR app was tested on 10 individuals and 10 groups. For the control group, 6 individuals and 6 groups used brochure/campus booklet while touring the sites and 6 individuals and 6 groups listen to the tour-guide. This comparison provided detailed understanding of what happens in the absence of technology in travel experience, and a focus on apprehending what AR technology adds. Data were collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews with the participants and then transcribed and imported into ATLAS.TI 7.0 software for analysis. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data. The interview data were coded and presented in five major sections representing the research questions. The results of the study provided theoretical contributions in understanding the smartphone-mediated tourism experiences and offered practical implications for app design and interpretative services for tourist sites.

The master's thesis deals with long bus tours and role of tour leader. The theoretical core is interdisciplinary definition of tourism as a specific assemblage of practices with a relationship to people, objects, practices of others and self. The concept of the third space makes it possible to overcome the established definition of tourist within the traditional dichotomy (self - Other, home - away etc.). Therefore, the tourist is regarded as a metaphor of both these opposites simultaneously. The tourist experiences are concerned here as psychological phenomenon consists of expectations, perception of tourist events and tourist memory. The main objective of this paper is to explore formation of tourist experiences during specific conditions of long bus tours from Belarus to EU countries, and to reveal the importance of tour leader within this process. Keywords: bus tour, tour leader, tourism, tourist experiences, anthropology of tourism

There has been increased attention given in the tourism literature to experiential perspectives of tourism. This thesis addresses the lack of attention in previous experiential studies to the relationship between heritage buildings and tourism. Specifically, this thesis explores the influence of heritage buildings in shaping international tourists' experiences of a particular region of New Zealand: Hawke's Bay. This research sought insight into the specific attributes of heritage buildings that influenced the experiences of international tourists visiting the region, and examined the relative importance of heritage buildings for international tourism to Hawke's Bay, as perceived by international tourists visiting the region. In this way, results are assumed in the personal constructs of individual consumers (Beeho Prentice, 1997; Prentice, Witt Hamer, 1998; McIntosh Siggs, 2005). An increased understanding of the relationship between heritage buildings and tourism is essential in strengthening support for preservation, for product development and promotion. A mixed-methodology comprising of 50 semi-structured interviews, 66 photograph-supported interviews and 354 structured questionnaires was adopted. Hawke's Bay's heritage buildings were found to have an important influence on tourists' experiences of the region, visually and as part of the narratives of their reported experiences. Attributes of Hawke's Bay's heritage buildings that influenced tourists' experiences of the region included their architecture, exterior and interior design, colour, history and associated stories. Furthermore, the interviews elicited three key experiential themes that emerged from respondents' narratives of their experiences in Hawke's Bay. They are; 'visual appeal', 'personal reflections' and 'engaging experiences'. Specifically, it was found that a townscape is not a passive space. Heritage buildings render the townscape an experiential place filled with emotion, mindfulness, engagement, and imbued with personal meaning. Visitors in effect created their own experiences through their active interaction with the environment; rendering it relevant to a context they were personally interested in, or which held personal significance for them. Analysis of the questionnaires revealed that, as perceived by international tourists, heritage buildings are important to a region; a significant proportion of respondents indicated that they would theoretically be willing to pay some money to ensure the preservation of Hawke's Bay's heritage buildings. This thesis evidences the important relationship between heritage buildings and tourism, and future research is advocated to advance upon the conclusions made in this research.

Los servicios ecosistémicos son los beneficios económicos, sociales y ambientales que las personas obtienen de los ecosistemas; están divididos en cuatro categorías: servicios de suministro, de regulación, de base y culturales. Los servicios ecosistémicos culturales (SEC) son beneficios inmateriales que las personas obtienen de la naturaleza. En el Perú, hay pocos estudios relacionados con los SEC, debido a que la mayoría están vinculados a los de regulación y de aprovisionamiento, por lo que el presente estudio aporta las valoraciones sociales en áreas naturales protegidas vinculadas al turismo. Este estudio analiza las subcategorías de SEC que los visitantes reconocen en dos Áreas Naturales Protegidas de la costa central del Perú: la Reserva Nacional de Paracas y la Reserva Nacional Sistemas de Islas Islotes y Puntas Guaneras – Sector Ballestas de manera que sirvan para el diseño de experiencias turísticas. Se trata de una investigación cualitativa basada en entrevistas a profundidad que recoge las percepciones y valoración de los SEC de visitantes nacionales, que fueron contrastadas con la oferta turística actual de ambas áreas protegidas. A partir del análisis, se identifica que en ambas áreas naturales protegidas las subcategorías más importantes son estética y recreativa. / Ecosystem services are the economic, social, and environmental benefits that people obtain from ecosystems; they are divided into four categories: provisioning, regulating, grounding and cultural services. Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are intangible benefits that people obtain from nature. In Peru, there are few studies related to CES, because most are linked to those of regulation and provisioning, so the present study provides social valuations in natural protected areas linked to tourism. This study analyzes the subcategories of CES that visitors recognize in two natural protected areas on the central coast of Peru: the Paracas National Reserve and the National Reserve of the Islotes and Puntas Guaneras Island Systems - Ballestas Sector, to design tourism experiences. This is a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews that gather the perceptions and evaluations of the CESs of national visitors, which were contrasted with the current tourism offer of both protected areas. From the analysis, it was identified that in both natural protected areas the most important subcategories are aesthetics and recreation. / Tesis

Användningen av sociala medier har under de senaste åren ökat radikalt och allt fler människor väljer att dela med sig av bilder och upplevelser på sociala medier, där turistupplevelser har blivit allt vanligare. Att uppdatera Facebook och Instagram under en resa är vanligt idag, där vissa resenärer är motiverade till att begränsa sin teknikanvändning under en resa, medan andra har väldigt svårt att komma över teknikbehovet. I den här studien undersöks unga myndigas generella användning av sociala medier under en resa, samt om de kan ha en inverkan på en turismupplevelse. Studien undersöker hur unga myndiga upplever att de påverkas av sociala medier innan, under och efter en resa. Därmed fastställer studien flera mönster och teman som kan vara de bidragande motivationerna till att dela med sig på sociala medier, där respondenterna har likasinnade åsikter och tankar kring sociala medier under en resa. Studien är också till för att öka förståelsen för vad unga myndigas motivationer för att dela innehåll på sociala medier är. Dessutom undersöker den här studien hur unga myndigas turistupplevelser blir påverkade av sociala medier och om detta har positiva eller negativa effekter. Denna studie tar avstamp i tidigare forskning som studerar sambandet mellan sociala medier, upplevelser och resor, för att sedan jämföras med egen empirisk insamling där både en enkätundersökning och 8 intervjuer har genomförts. Från det empiriska materialet framgår det att unga myndiga till stor del påverkas på ett eller annat sätt av sociala medier innan, under och efter en resa. Kopplat till den teoretiska bakgrunden framgår det även att det finns flera bidragande faktorer som avgör i vilken utsträckning unga myndigas turistupplevelser påverkas av sociala medier. / The use of social media has increased radically in recent years, with more and more people choosing to share pictures and experiences on social media, in which tourist experiences are all more common. Updating Facebook and Instagram during a trip is habitual today, where some travelers are motivated to limit their technology use during a trip, while others find it very difficult to overcome the need for technology. This study examines young adults' general use of social media while traveling, and whether they can have an impact on tourist experiences. The study examines how young adults perceive that they are affected by social media before, during and after a trip. In doing so, the study identifies several patterns and themes that may be the contributing motivations for sharing on social media, where respondents have like-minded opinions and thoughts about social media during travel. The study also aims to increase the understanding of what young adults' motivations for sharing content on social media are. Furthermore, this study examines how young adults' tourism experiences are affected by social media and whether this has positive or negative effects. This study is based on previous research that studies the connection between social media, experiences, and travel, and is then compared with own empirical data where both a survey and 8 interviews have been conducted. The empirical data shows that young adults are largely influenced in one way or another by social media before, during and after a trip. Connected to the theoretical background, it also appears that there are several contributing factors that determine the extent to which young adults' tourist experiences are influenced by social media.