Optimization of excursion routes using the mobile application “Citymapper”

The COVID-19 pandemic and the strict anti-epidemic measures introduced by various countries have accelerated the transformation of tourism around the world. The industry has lost hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of jobs. At the same time, digital startups have entered the market, and new opportunities for individual tours and formats of international cooperation have appeared. Trends for modern travelers are widespread lowcost, p2p services for tourists, which exclude intermediaries from the supply chain and allow the creation of unique and personalized travel experiences. At the present stage of the tourism sector development, information technologies and software tools play an important role. Evolution and technological progress have penetrated the tourism market and the organization of excursion activities. For example, unique multimedia guides for mobile phones using GPS navigation have been developed for tourists. Historically, transport has been a fundamental component of the tourism sector and has allowed tourists to travel comfortably and quickly. Advantages and disadvantages of a trip throughout a city on a sightseeing bus are considered. In this paper, we analyze the most popular market software for mobile applications for navigating tourists during travel. Such applications are generally very popular due to a high level of modern societal mobility and the need for operational navigation, primarily in new urban spaces. The market is quite saturated with software from different manufacturers, and such high competition dictates requirements for functionality and services provided to a user; therefore, manufacturers are forced to expand additional services to increase their competitiveness. Tourists’ basic requirements for mobile applications on a trip were determined by tourist canvassing. Suggestions for improving mobile applications to navigate tourists on trips are provided, and special attention has been paid to creating the most comfortable and optimized excursion methods while taking into account tourist wishes.

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Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa Nr 461252 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki i promocja sportu (2021).