Tracking via Bluetooth and Wi Fi
The technique of tracking tourists’ mobility using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology has emerged as a reliable and viable option for tourism planners and researchers (Shoval and Ahas, 2016; Musa and Eriksson, 2012). Recent studies have employed Bluetooth to measure the time it takes for people to pass through security (Bullock et al., 2010); assess movement flows at festivals (Versichele et al., 2012); and explore movement through cities (Verischele, 2014). Bluetooth has also been used to track high speed movement, such as car and cyclists, whereas Wi-Fi scanning, which takes a longer time to capture a signal, has been used to assess the flows of slower moving objects, such as tourists on foot, or other pedestrians (Abedi et al., 2013). Tracking using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth offers researchers the ability to track vast amounts of data on movement in a relatively short period of time. Verischele et al., (2012) describes the scanning of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals as ‘non-participatory’ research because individuals are not required to sign up and participate to studies of this nature, nor are they aware they are being tracked. The advantage of this approach is that tourists do not change their behaviour because of the knowledge that they are being tracked. This chapter will now review these forms of tracking technology, along with their advantages, limitations and ethical implications.