The Potential Role of Smart Mobile Technology in Mitigating Ireland’s Tourism Biosecurity Risk

Abstract

The use of smart mobile technology could potentially ease Ireland's level of biosecurity risk from tourism. Smart mobile technology is capable of improving communication of biosecurity monitoring, mitigation, and eradication measures to tourists in Ireland. The scope of this research is to assess biosecurity communication from Ireland's major ports, state agencies, and governing bodies involved in outdoor recreational activities. The aim of this paper is to assess Ireland's biosecurity communication for any smart mobile technology in national agencies. A mixed method approach was utilised which consisted of content analysis as well as structured qualitative interviews. Analysis has revealed that no evidence of smart mobile technology for biosecurity communication is in place for tourists arriving in Ireland's ports or in national agencies. The importance of timely communication of biosecurity measures and alerts seems to not have been recognised. The use of this technology could mitigate the risk of tourists vectoring dangerous microbes and aiding biological invasions. This paper concludes that a low emphasis on adopting smart mobile technology could be unnecessarily contributing to Ireland's biosecurity risk. It offers an opportunity to be improved before a serious biosecurity breach occurs possibly resulting in a lost tourist season or expensive eradication programmes as has been witnessed in other destinations worldwide.