Aplikacje mobilne jako innowacyjne źródła informacji turystycznej dla studentów

Background. The dissemination of mobile devices has created new opportunities for communication, work or reaching the client. The fight for the client takes place not only on the basis of the traditional media and websites, but also through sharing a variety of mobile applications. The aim of the research was the analysis of selected web applications and the evaluation of their functionality for innovative sources of tourist information for students. Material and methods. The research was carried out in the years 2012–2014 among 268 students of different colleges in Poznan. The research tool was a questionnaire survey, consisting of two parts. The first part concerned Internet-based technologies, while the other was dedicated to mobile applications used in tourism. Results and conclusions. The increase of the number of mobile device users encourages the creation of various applications used in tourism, which are an innovative source of information. The research shows that, according to the respondents, the use of mobile applications can result in an increase in tourism demand, regional development, as well as safety and comfort.