Our society is becoming more restless and mobile, a symbol for this mobility are the backpackers. Backpackers are found everywhere in the world and represent a form of low-cost independent travellers. To experience as much as possible, seems to be a very important issue for backpackers and they have that as a motivation during their travels. Backpackers have been described as ”experiences hungry”. The term experiences, is today being used a lot in the tourism industry. To be able to predict what an experience is, can be hard and the term is hard to define. Mobile technologies are also becoming a permanent part of the our society. Communication technology are something that backpackers use more and more during their travels. This thesis identifies knowledge and design implications for a mobile application to support backpacker´s need when travelling and how backpackers define the notion of travel experiences. The result of the thesis have calumniated in a mobile application prototype that coul contribute in letting backpackers get more out of there journey. This in an interactive and social way, by giving backpackers the opportunity to be social towards each-other share information through a social medium. As the thesis have shown that backpackers wants to meet others on there journey and experience the world.

The main aim of this study was to investigate current search behaviour among Saudi consumers of travel services, to establish their attitudes towards, and adoption of online search and booking processes. It also aimed to explore current experiences within travel agencies of the adoption of online booking systems in the Saudi Arabian market. The study relied on a multi-method research design, with a focus on using both qualitative and quantitative data across three sequentially organised phases of data collection. Phase one centred on in-depth interviews with Saudi travel agents; phase two adopted a combined approach, using observation and semi-structured interviews, with a focus on getting a comprehensive insight into Saudi consumer search behaviour. In phase three, the researcher undertook a survey of internet adoption and search behaviour with a cross-section of Saudi consumers, located in the UK (N=481). Findings from the first phase demonstrated that Saudi Arabian travel firms continue to rely on offline booking methods and have been relatively slow to adopt online systems. Key factors influencing the adoption of online travel booking technology included attitudinal and cultural factors and an absence of customer trust, security and privacy. The second phase results indicated that information search and evaluation emerged as a single highly integrated process, however behavioural elements within the process varied across individuals, according to their search strategy and level of prior experience. In phase three, the key relationships in the conceptual model were examined, notably the relationship between search constructs and purchase intention. Only a few past studies have examined information search and evaluation in relation to purchase in emerging markets. This study offers a more in-depth perspective on search intention and information search and evaluation in the pre-purchase stage for online travel products. Key insights have emerged on the nature of the relationship between search intention, information search and evaluation and purchase intention through the development of a more comprehensive conceptual framework than in prior studies. The qualitative research demonstrated a) how search ability and search strategies were reflective of confident and well-established search behaviour on the part of Saudi consumers and b) gender and regional variations c) that the nature of information search and evaluation is shaped by behavioural differences at an individual consumer level. The study also offers a deeper understanding of the challenging perceptions that exist with regards to the slow adoption of online travel processes among Saudi Arabian travel firms.