THE ROLE OF GEO-BASED TECHNOLOGY IN PLACE EXPERIENCES Iis P. Tussyadiah Florian J. Zach Temple University, USA Abstract: Today, as various context-aware technologies have become increasingly ubiquitous, tourists have access to retrieve voluminous geographic information about tourism destina- tions. These technologies are suggested to aid tourists in gaining meaningful experiences with places. This study identifies how the use of geo-based technology plays a role in the acquisition of geographic knowledge and behavior. It is identified that the use of geo-based technology while traveling contributes to the different components that frame the structure of tourism experience. Further, this study also confirms that tourism experience can be seen as a part of the everyday experience as geographic behavior exhibited on a day-to-day basis is found to have an effect on tourism experience. Keywords: geographic cognition, geographic behavior, tourism experience, geo-based technology. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. INTRODUCTION Tourism is an encounter between and amongst several things: people, space, and contexts (Crouch, 2005). Indeed, tourists seek benefits from the consumption of the experiential characteristics (i.e., physical, social and cultural) of places, spaces and landscapes. In the early conception of tourism experience, MacCannell (1973) characterizes tourists’ sites as locations of the authentic and tourists vis- it these places in search for the reflection of their authentic selves. This implies tourism as ‘‘sightseeing,’’ emphasizing the destinations as a package of visual materials or signs. This is akin to the concept of tour- ist gaze (Urry, 1990, 1995) that gives an emphasis to the ‘signs’ as the ‘objects of gaze’ while highlighting the subjectivity of the gaze. Indeed, recent discussion on tourism experience tends to be more subject- centered. Uriely (2005) identifies the pluralization of tourists, the mul- tiplicity of tourist experiences, and the shift from tourism experience Iis Tussyadiah is Assistant Professor at the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM), Temple University (Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. Email <iist@temple.edu>). Her research interests are centered around the impacts of technology on tourism experiences and destination management. Florian Zach is Assistant Professor at STHM, Temple University. His main research interests include tourism innovation and collaboration for sustainable and competitive destinations. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 780–800, 2012 0160-7383/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain doi:10.1016/j.annals.2011.10.003 www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures 780