Preferences for tourist information centres in the ubiquitous information environment

The rapid development of information communication technology has encouraged tourism authorities to carefully consider the typical duties of tourist information centres (TICs), wherein visitors acquire various kinds of travel information about a particular destination. This study aims to provide useful management implications to help tourism organisations develop feasible TIC operational strategies and implement alternative services in the ubiquitous information environment. To provide a richer understanding of tourists' heterogeneous preferences for TICs, this study makes use of the stated preference choice method with a sample of South Korean domestic tourists. Despite the widespread use of personal mobile devices, our study results suggest that South Korean domestic tourists still prefer to visit various types of TICs to acquire travel information. Results indicate that the TIC visitor group is less sensitive than the non-visitor group to advanced information communication technology and more satisfied with the availability of WIFI signals to facilitate the use of personal mobile devices or laptops. Our respondents also demonstrate their preferences for some TICs constructed with container structures, whereas they showed a strong aversion to visiting booth-styled TICs inside larger buildings. Based on these findings, this study provides several management strategies to fulfil tourists' ever-changing needs.