High roaming charges, data protection concerns or simply a lack of an internet-compatible device: according to a recent survey these are the reasons why many travellers reject smartphone use abroad. Together with ITB Berlin, Hochschule Heilbronn polled a total of 4,000 people from Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK to find out their willingness to make use of local services abroad with their smartphones. These services identify a subscriber’s geographical position, which make it possible to access navigation systems, maps, special information and booking services in the area. The representative survey was carried out by IPSOS, an international market research institute.

According to their findings, unpredictable roaming charges discourage travellers from using phone services abroad. Overall, 66 per cent of the respondents in all the countries put together said that charges abroad were the main reason for not using local services when on holiday. 55 per cent of those polled lacked a suitable device to even access these services. The high cost of these phones prevented them from buying one. 41 per cent voiced data protection concerns and for that reason would rather not use local services.

Dr. Manfred Lieb, Dean of Studies at the Faculty of Economics 2 and in charge of the survey: “What is interesting is that people in every country display a positive attitude towards modern technology, the internet and mobile devices and that they accept desktop capabilities which have been transported to mobile devices.“

David Ruetz, Head of ITB Berlin: “The survey does however show that people’s use of smartphones on holiday is determined by costs and not by a non-availability of service apps. In order to achieve broader smartphone use charges must become more transparent. At the same time users’ data protection concerns must be taken seriously and online services must be made as secure as possible. These are some of the topics we will be examining at the newly enlarged eTravel World section at ITB Berlin 2012.“

A look at the various European countries reveals individual differences: for the majority of respondents from Germany (68 per cent) roaming charges were the main reason for not using local services abroad. Around 70 per cent of the men and 67 per cent of the women polled would rather not use smartphones due to costs. In second place were data protection concerns, voiced by 50 per cent of both men and women. This was followed by the high cost of purchasing a suitable device.

In the Netherlands the high purchase cost was the main reason discouraging smartphone use abroad. Both men and women as well as older respondents gave this as their reason. For younger people aged between16 and 29 who took part in the survey it was high roaming charges that counted most. The second and third-place responses were high roaming charges and data protection concerns. Respondents in the UK and France said high roaming charges discouraged them from using smartphones abroad. This was followed by a lack of a suitable device, due to the purchase cost, and data protection concerns when surfing the internet abroad.