Role of location-based mobile apps in city marketing: Beşiktaş as a student-friendly district

ABSTRACT In the age of globalisation and high competition among destinations, cities are empowered with new marketing tools to attract new residents and visitors while keeping their existing communities satisfied. Therefore, the main objective of the paper is to understand the role of location-based mobile applications among university students, who as members of the wired generation tend to use technology more than older generations. The secondary objective is to explore the most preferred location-based apps with their benefits and how they are used by the students to link themselves to the city and its services. Two focus groups are conducted with university students in Besiktas, which is claimed to be one of the most student-friendly environments in Istanbul. The findings reveal students’ preferences and reasoning for the use of location-based mobile apps. Apart from their satisfaction with the diversity of shopping, wayfinding, and geosocial networking apps, their concerns for digital privacy and personal data protection have become apparent. Further research is recommended for understanding the satisfaction and expectations of different user segments in the city since their evaluations might contribute to further develop and improve location-based services, and promote the city in the local and global markets.