Digital Trojan horse - urban tools in a non-urban environment

Abstract of this study

This study examines the impact of a "mobile multi-service app" on tourists' decision-making at three key stages: destination selection, long-distance travel and local mobility at the destination. Using experiments with 266 survey participants, the study evaluates the impact of an app that integrates an information and booking interface for transportation, attractions and local facilities. The results show that while the impact of the app is generally low, its added value becomes more significant in complex and time-critical travel phases, such as local mobility.

The availability of the app increases the market share of destinations by up to 4.5 percentage points and increases the attractiveness of rail travel by 27% under certain scenarios . Willingness to pay for the app ranges from €7 to €12 per night for destination choice, €10-20 for mode choice for long-distance trips to the destination and €1-1.28 per trip for local trips at the destination. This indicates that the development and maintenance of the app is economically viable.

Despite these benefits, the effectiveness of the app depends on user awareness and integration with quality local transportation services. The study presents the app as a "digital Trojan horse" that uses its functionalities to unobtrusively promote sustainable travel options. This research highlights the need for collaborative app development across destinations and suggests further research into large-scale implementation and heterogeneity of user preferences.

Findings from this study

• The importance of the app varies along the customer journey, but is highest during on-site mobility: although the overall impact of the app is low compared to key travel attributes , its added value increases during complex and time-critical travel phases. The importance of the app increases with each phase of the customer journey. In the experiments, the average importance of the app was between 5% and 8%. The app achieved the highest importance during local mobility at the destination (8.44%), which indicates that coordination and decision-making, which may be required several times a day, is most time-critical here.
• The app significantly increases the market share of the destination: the availability of the app increases the market share of destinations by up to 4.5 percentage points. Based on a defined baseline scenario, the consideration of the destination as a vacation option would increase from 76.6% of respondents to 81.1% if the app is available.
• The app significantly promotes sustainable long-distance travel: the app increases the attractiveness of rail travel. Under specific scenarios, the availability of the app would increase rail's market share by around 3 percentage points. Given that only about 11% of travelers in the study region currently use rail, this increase would correspond to a growth of 27% of rail travelers.
• The app is commercially viable based on users' willingness to pay: The estimated monetary values for the TITRAG app are surprisingly large, indicating that the development and maintenance of the app is commercially viable.
  • The willingness to pay varies depending on the travel phase: for the destination selection, the WTP is between €7 and €12 per night.
  • For the choice of means of transport for the long-distance journey, it is between €10 and €20.
  • For local journeys at the destination, it is between €1 and €1.28 per journey
• The study introduces the concept of the "digital Trojan horse". Here, the app uses its functionalities to unobtrusively draw attention to the quality of local public transport services, which can be a more effective lever for promoting sustainable choices than the app itself.