International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) – eISSN: 1865-7923 – Vol  17 No  16 (2023) iJIM | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) 61 iJIM | eISSN: 1865-7923 | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) | JIM International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies AL-Hazmi, N.M. (2023). Tourism Advertising Using Specialized Mobile Applications and Its Impact on Increasing the Demand for the Services of Tourism Organizations. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM), 17(16), pp. 61–69. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v17i16.42689 Article submitted 2023-05-23. Resubmitted 2023-06-28. Final acceptance 2023-07-03. Final version published as submitted by the authors. © 2023 by the authors of this article. Published under CC-BY. Online-Journals.org PAPER Tourism Advertising Using Specialized Mobile Applications and Its Impact on Increasing the Demand for the Services of Tourism Organizations ABSTRACT This study aims to explore tourism advertising using specialized mobile applications and its impact on increasing tourism demand for the services of tourism organizations in Al-Kharj Governorate, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In order to do so, the descriptive-analytical approach, which is consistent with the nature of the study, was used with a questionnaire form distributed to the targeted study sample of 150 forms. Different statistical methods have been used to test the study’s hypothesis. The study reached a wide range of results, the most important of which is the existence of an impact of tourism advertising by using specialized mobile applications on increasing demand for the services of travel and tourism organiza- tions in Al-Kharj Governorate. Furthermore, a series of recommendations were provided, the most important of which is the need to catch up with technology and recent developments in the field of tourism advertising. KEYWORDS mobile apps, tourism, advertisement, demand, services 1 INTRODUCTION Tourism is a social and humanitarian phenomenon and, as a modern non- traditional industry, is subject to supply and demand conditions like any other com- modity. Therefore, the study of tourism demand is one of the important topics to which tourism experts in different parts of the world have paid more attention. The tourism market consists of several market segments representing consumer groups with similar or homogeneous characteristics. Thus, tourism demand con- sists of an overlapping mix of different elements such as human desires, needs, and tendencies. The demand is defined as: an expression of tourist trends to pur- chase a particular tourist product or to visit a region, and a tourism state in its own Nabil Mohemmed AL-Hazmi() Department of Marketing, College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia n.alhazmi@psau.edu.sa https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v17i16.42689 https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v17i16.42689 https://online-journals.org/ https://online-journals.org/ mailto:n.alhazmi@psau.edu.sa https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v17i16.42689 62 International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) iJIM | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) AL-Hazmi right, consisting of a combination of different elements representing the motiva- tions, desires, abilities, tendencies, and personal needs affecting tourist consumers in terms of demand trends for a particular region. The successful and pre-planned advertisement, developed with a prepared and deliberate strategy, will reach the tourist areas advertised in the various mobile apps. The public will be granted a kind of confidence to visit these tourist attractions and to see their various facilities, features, prices, quality of services, transportation, food, drink, and accommodation services, etc. All these services and tourism products provided by tourism organi- zations will reach tourists via advertising using specialized mobile applications. The advertising message using specialized mobile applications must be honest. Successful tourism advertising using specialized mobile applications tries to iden- tify the wishes and needs of tourists and the services they look for, how to sat- isfy them, and how to provide them with commensurate prices that are adequate for different tourists’ capabilities. Consequently, they can influence these tourists, turn their potential desires into real tourist demand, and attract them. Tourism and travel organizations in Al-Kharj Governorate have begun to pay attention to adver- tising using specialized mobile applications and its impact on attracting tourists to their various services and obtaining a large share of the travel and tourism market within the Kingdom. The study problem is represented by identifying the relation- ship between or the impact of advertising using specialized mobile applications on the development and increasing of tourism demand for the services of travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj governorate, whether those in charge of these organizations use advertising methods with modern and advanced technologies, or whether the advertising message is prepared honestly and non-misleadingly using specialized mobile applications. The importance of the study is represented by Clarifying the relationship between the nature of the advertisement of the ser- vices of travel and tourism organizations using specialized mobile applications and increasing the demand for these services and Determining the importance of hon- est and non-misleading preparation of the advertisement message using special- ized mobile applications to promote an increased level of demand for the services of tourism organizations. Therefore, the current study demonstrates the impact of the advertisements on specialized mobile applications on increasing the volume of tourism demand. 2 LITERATURE REVIEW There are some studies that have dealt with tourism, tourism demand, and their relationship with advertisement using specialized mobile applications. [11] stud- ied the influential role of social media on tourism by applying the simultaneous equation method. They found a positively significant association between social media and other factors except online reviews, destination, etc. [15] examined the factors that influence the demand for tourism by employing the GMM tech- nique. They found FDI and inflation to be two significant factors that influence the demand for tourism. Among these studies: A study by [8] examined the fac- tors that influence tourism resilience during disasters by applying the multiple regression method. They found different influential factors that affect tourism’s resilience. The study by [12] recommended the need to use modern advertising methods to increase tourism demand for natural resources. [2] also demonstrated that creating everlasting relationships with customers of tourism organizations https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim iJIM | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) 63 Tourism Advertising Using Specialized Mobile Applications and Its Impact on Increasing the Demand for the Services of Tourism Organizations requires the preparation of a clear and honest advertising message about tourism services, which will be provided to them using modern means in tourism market- ing. Another study by [9] proposes a theoretical framework that uncovers the joint effects of the update frequency of apps and the product type of the update on con- sumer interest and its underlying mechanisms. [10] indicated that e-tourism mar- keting needs electronic and human resources to assist the tourism services market and win the market competition. The study by [14] aimed to identify the impact of tourism advertisements on tourists and their capability to attract them to the advertised tourism services and thus develop tourism demand. [1] indicated that there is a relationship between the nature of tourism services provided to tour- ists and the demand level for these services. [7] aimed to identify the relationship between the contents of the advertisement message provided to tourists and their level of awareness about the nature of these services. [5] indicated that there is a relationship between tourism media and the development of tourism demand by preparing advertising messages capable of attracting tourists to the use of tourism facilities. [6] recommended the need to use modern tourism advertising methods to develop demand for the services of various tourism organizations and thus cre- ate tourism developments capable of contributing to the state’s balance. The study by [18] aimed to determine the relationship between the use of social media sites and the increased demand for hotel services and the extent of the impact of adver- tising on increasing their market share. [17] aimed to understand the differential impact of types of app innovation on customer evaluation. [3] sought to under- stand the role of social networking sites in the development of tourism in Al-Kharj Governorate, and the study concluded that these sites have a role in persuading tourists to visit the governorate. As for the study by [19], it found that the research on functional value (driven by economic benefits, convenience, and relevance), emotional value (driven by trustworthiness, competition, and altruism), and social value. A study [13] concluded the importance of using mobile applications in motivating customers to use the company’s products. The study [14] aimed to study the factors affecting intention to use contemporary mobile commerce on the basis of integrating perceived security, subjective norm, innovativeness, and self- efficacy into the TAM model, while [16] aimed to measure consumer satisfaction with mobile marketing. Through reviewing the previous studies, we found that they dealt with areas other than the area where this study is conducted and dealt with different topics. Therefore, we find that this study differs from the previous studies in terms of the location it was conducted in and in terms of the study’s subject matter itself. 3 STUDY SYSTEMATIC FRAMEWORK 3.1 Study problem The problem of the study is represented by identifying the relationship or impact of advertising using specialized mobile applications on the development and increasing tourism demand for the services of travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj governorate. The focus is on determining whether those in charge of these organizations use advertising methods with modern and advancement technologies and whether the advertising message is prepared honestly and non-misleadingly when utilizing specialized mobile applications. https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim 64 International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) iJIM | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) AL-Hazmi 3.2 Study importance The importance of study is represented in the following: 1. Clarifying the relationship between the nature of the advertisement of the ser- vices of travel and tourism organizations by using specialized mobile applica- tions and increasing the demand for these services 2. Determining the importance of honesty and non-misleading preparation of the advertisement message by using specialized mobile applications to promote the level of increasing demand for the services of tourism organizations 3.3 Study objectives This study seeks to achieve the following objectives: 1. Demonstrating the impact of the advertisement by specialized mobile applica- tions on increasing the volume of tourism demand 2. Determining the right time to start advertising campaigns for tourism services by using specialized mobile applications 3. Identifying the importance of preparing an honest advertising message by using specialized mobile applications to promote the level of increasing demand for the services of tourism organizations 3.4 Study hypotheses This study seeks to test the following hypotheses: There is no impact of advertising the services of travel and tourism organizations by using specialized mobile applications on the development of tourism demand for these services at the indicative level (0.05). 4 METHODOLOGY 4.1 Study sample and population The study population is represented by travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj governorate. The sample of the overall population of 150 tourism organi- zations was randomly selected, and 150 questionnaire forms were distributed as presented in Table 1. Table 1. Distribution of the study sample to different tourism organizations Type of Tourism Organization Number Percentage 100% Travel and Tourism Agencies  58  37% Hotels  32  21% Restaurants  40  26% Parks  20  13% Total 150 100 https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim iJIM | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) 65 Tourism Advertising Using Specialized Mobile Applications and Its Impact on Increasing the Demand for the Services of Tourism Organizations 4.2 Study approach The study relied on the descriptive analytical approach, which was based on the collection of secondary data from various published resources, and the pri- mary data was collected by relying on the questionnaire form designed for this purpose. Moreover, the questionnaire form was statistically discharged and ana- lyzed, and its results are provided for the purpose of accessing answers, which determine the extent of the impact of tourism advertising using specialized mobile applications on increasing tourism demand for the services of travel and tourism organizations. 5 RESULT ANALYSIS In order to analyze the opinions of the sample respondents, a series of statistical tests were used as follows: 5.1 Analysis of sample respondents’ opinions about the advertisement using specialized mobile applications variable Table 2 shows the results of the analysis of the respondents’ opinion analysis of the variable advertisement using specialized mobile applications. Table 2. Sample opinion analysis towards the advertisement by using mobile apps variable S. No. Arithmetic Mean Std. Deviation 1 Advertising by using mobile apps is an important way to influence guests’ behaviors and convince them to go towards purchasing. 3.264 1.467 2 Hotel organizations always prepare a specific financial budget to be used in the preparation of advertising by using mobile apps. 3.128 1.284 3 The guest, through using the specific advertising by using mobile apps and clarifying the characteristics of the service provided, clearly and accurately understands the information. 2.896 0.973 4 Hotel organizations penetrate new markets by using a successful advertising by using mobile apps strategy. 3.478 1.250 5 Hotel organizations seek to direct their efforts to the market using advertising by using mobile apps and its variant means. 2.962 1.009 Total 3.201 1.353 Note: N = 150. The results of the previous table show that the arithmetic mean of the study sam- ple’s answers to the tourism advertising using specialized mobile applications vari- able was higher than the hypothetical mean (3) except FOR paragraph (3), which has a mean of 2.896. This is an indication that this variable is not widespread at the required level in travel and tourism organizations in the sense that the information https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim 66 International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) iJIM | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) AL-Hazmi provided to the customer is not clearly prepared or provided. The overall mean of the study sample’s opinions on the advertisement variable is 3.201 with a standard deviation of 1.353, which was higher than the hypothesis mean (3), indicating that the data were homogeneous. This also provides evidence that the respondents’ opin- ions were consistent about the paragraphs of this variable. 5.2 Analysis of the sample respondents’ opinions of the variable of tourism demand Table 3 shows the results of the analysis of the respondents’ opinion analysis to this variable. Table 3. Analysis of the sample respondents’ opinions towards the tourism demand variable S.No. Arithmetic Mean Std. Deviation 1 The use of advertising by using mobile apps and its variant means affects the increase and development of tourism demand. 3.227 1.452 2 Tourism organizations are capable to overcome the barriers of development by appropriately guiding the declaration commensurate with the nature of the services provided. 3.048 1.249 3 Tourism demand increases when advertising by mobile apps is used at the right times and places within the target market. 3.561 1.468 4 The development of tourism demand is positively influenced by the mechanisms of producing the advertising by using mobile apps directed towards a group of guests. 2.934 1.102 5 The advertisement message using mobile apps is designed to ensure increased demand for tourist services, which meet the guests’ needs and desires within the target market. 3.135 1.226 Total 3.306 1.409 Note: N = 150. The results of the previous table illustrate that the arithmetic mean of the study sample’s answers on the tourism demand variable was higher than the hypothetical mean (3), except in paragraph (4), which has a mean of 2.934. This is an indication that the development of tourism demand is not positively affected by the mecha- nisms of producing an advertisement directed at a group of guests. The overall study sample’s opinions about the advertisement using specialized mobile applications are 3.306 with a standard deviation of 1.409. It is higher than the hypothesis mean (3), indicating that the data are homogeneous. This also provides evidence that the respondents’ opinions were consistent about the paragraphs of this variable. 5.3 Testing the study hypotheses The study hypothesis was tested as follows: https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim iJIM | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) 67 Tourism Advertising Using Specialized Mobile Applications and Its Impact on Increasing the Demand for the Services of Tourism Organizations Analyzing the correlation between the study variables. The results of Table 4 illustrate that there is a positive correlation between the variables of advertising by using mobile apps and tourism demand, as the correlation coefficient between them reached 0.899, indicating that the increase in advertising by using specialized mobile applications leads to an increase in tourism demand for the services of travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj Governorate. Table 4. Correlation analysis between the study variables Tourism Advertisement Tourism Demand Tourism Advertisement using Mobile Apps Pearson Correlation 1 0.899 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 N 150 150 Tourism Demand Pearson Correlation 1 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.899 N 150 150 Analysis of the impact relationship between the two variables. Tables 5 and 6 below illustrate the results of the analysis of the relationship between the study’s two variables. Table 5. ANOVA Test’s analysis total boxes model Model Sum of Squares Degree of Freedom Average Square F Sig. 1 Regression 29.536  1 29.536 90.965 0.000* Residual 31.048 98  0.365 Total 60.584 99 a) Predictors: (Constant) Tourism Advertisement by using specialized mobile applications b) Dependent Variable: Tourism Demand Table 6. Regression analysis coefficients Model Non-Standard Parameter Standard Parameter t Sig. Beta Standard Error Beta 1 (Constant) -0.269 0.327 -0.336 0.994 Tourism Advertisement by using mobile apps  1.867 0.345 0.783  9.984 0.000 a. Dependent Variable: Tourism Demand The ANOVA Test (Tables 5 and 6) illustrates that advertising using specialized mobile applications has a positive impact on tourism demand, which indicates that for travel and tourism organizations in Al-Kharj Governorate, advertising using spe- cialized mobile applications at the required level leads to increased tourism demand. Therefore, we reject the main study hypotheses, which states that there is no impact of advertising travel and tourism organizations’ services using specialized mobile https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim 68 International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (iJIM) iJIM | Vol. 17 No. 16 (2023) AL-Hazmi applications on the development of tourism demand for these services at the level of indication (0.05). Accordingly, we accept the alternative hypotheses that there is an impact of advertising travel and tourism organizations’ services using specialized mobile applications on the development of tourism demand for these services at the level of significance (0.05). 6 CONCLUSION Through studying the research objectives and the analysis of its hypotheses and using different statistical methods, we find that most travel and tourism organiza- tions in Al-Kharj Governorate use advertising through specialized mobile appli- cations or other advertising methods. It is also clear that there are no advertising strategies for tourism organizations. We also find that successful mobile app adver- tising affects the decisions of tourists and turns potential tourism demand into actual tourism demand. We also find that the advertisement message using specialized mobile applications is unclear or provides inaccurate information about the services of these organizations and does not consider the right time or the appropriate means through which it is provided to attract the largest segment of tourists. Accordingly, travel and tourism organizations in the Al-Kharj Governorate need to catch up with technology and modern developments in the field of tourism advertising and use social network apps professionally by preparing a clear, accurate, and honest adver- tising message capable of creating a positive impression among the targeted seg- ments of tourists. 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Zhang, “Value drivers of government issued mobile coupons usage,” Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 122, no. 3, pp. 702–728, 2022. https://doi. org/10.1108/IMDS-12-2020-0727 9 AUTHOR Nabil Mohemmed AL-Hazmi, is currently working as Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing, College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. (E-mail: n.alhazmi@psau.edu.sa) https://online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2022.vol9.no1.0213 https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16070160 https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no11.381 https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBIR.2020.105996 https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-18762021000200104 https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer18010026 https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer18010026 https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no1.385 https://doi.org/10.58729/1941-6679.1418 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2020.103358 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2020.103358 https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-12-2020-0727 https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-12-2020-0727 mailto:n.alhazmi@psau.edu.sa