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Combining GPS & survey data improves understanding of visitor behaviour

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  • East, Duncan
  • Osborne, Patrick
  • Kemp, Simon
  • Woodfine, Tim

Abstract

Visitor tracking is frequently used in tourism planning for large sites, but is far less common at individual attractions, despite a body of literature examining the detrimental impact of crowding on visitor experience. This study used handheld geographic positioning system (GPS) units to track 931 groups of visitors around a single tourist attraction to determine where they went and how long they dwelt at particular locations. The tracking data were combined with survey data to discover whether different types of visitors behaved differently when exploring the attraction. The majority of visitors followed similar routes revealing a strong ‘main path inertia’ with over half missing exhibits away from the perceived main route. Different group types varied in how long they dwelt at different locations and in how long they spent at the attraction altogether.

Suggested Citation

  • East, Duncan & Osborne, Patrick & Kemp, Simon & Woodfine, Tim, 2017. "Combining GPS & survey data improves understanding of visitor behaviour," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 307-320.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:61:y:2017:i:c:p:307-320
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2017.02.021
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    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517717300493
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Santana-Jiménez, Yolanda & Hernández, Juan M., 2011. "Estimating the effect of overcrowding on tourist attraction: The case of Canary Islands," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 415-425.
    2. Flemming Sørensen & Jon Sundbo, 2014. "Potentials for user-based innovation in tourism: the example of GPS tracking of attraction visitors," Chapters, in: Gry Agnete Alsos & Dorthe Eide & Einar Lier Madsen (ed.), Handbook of Research on Innovation in Tourism Industries, chapter 6, pages 132-153, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. O’Connor, A. & Zerger, A. & Itami, B., 2005. "Geo-temporal tracking and analysis of tourist movement," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 135-150.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ana Muñoz-Mazón & Laura Fuentes-Moraleda & Angela Chantre-Astaiza & Marlon-Felipe Burbano-Fernandez, 2019. "The Study of Tourist Movements in Tourist Historic Cities: A Comparative Analysis of the Applicability of Four Different Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-26, September.
    2. Koun Sugimoto & Kei Ota & Shohei Suzuki, 2019. "Visitor Mobility and Spatial Structure in a Local Urban Tourism Destination: GPS Tracking and Network analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, February.
    3. Qian Yao & Yong Shi & Hai Li & Jiahong Wen & Jianchao Xi & Qingwei Wang, 2020. "Understanding the Tourists’ Spatio-Temporal Behavior Using Open GPS Trajectory Data: A Case Study of Yuanmingyuan Park (Beijing, China)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Tiantian Zhang & Weicheng Hua & Yannan Xu, 2019. "“Seeing” or “Being Seen”: Research on the Sight Line Design in the Lion Grove Based on Visitor Temporal–Spatial Distribution and Space Syntax," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-13, August.
    5. Yong Gao & Chao Ye & Xiang Zhong & Lun Wu & Yu Liu, 2019. "Extracting Spatial Patterns of Intercity Tourist Movements from Online Travel Blogs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-18, June.
    6. Tosporn Arreeras & Mikiharu Arimura & Takumi Asada & Saharat Arreeras, 2019. "Association Rule Mining Tourist-Attractive Destinations for the Sustainable Development of a Large Tourism Area in Hokkaido Using Wi-Fi Tracking Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-17, July.
    7. María Cristina Rodríguez Rangel & Marcelino Sánchez Rivero & Julián Ramajo Hernández, 2020. "A Spatial Analysis of Intensity in Tourism Accommodation: An Application for Extremadura (Spain)," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-21, April.
    8. Ante Mandić, 2020. "Structuring challenges of sustainable tourism development in protected natural areas with driving force–pressure–state–impact–response (DPSIR) framework," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 560-576, December.
    9. Ko Koens & Albert Postma & Bernadett Papp, 2018. "Is Overtourism Overused? Understanding the Impact of Tourism in a City Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, November.

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    Keywords

    Tracking; Visitor; Behaviour; GPS; Zoo;
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