Who is a tourist? Classifying international urban tourists using machine learning

A key issue in tourism management relates to the lack of consensus regarding a theoretical and practical definition of the term “tourist.” In turn, this results in a range of methods for counting tourists and measuring tourism. This paper presents a novel non-linear model for classifying international tourists in urban settings, based on machine learning classification methods. These methods utilize innovative feature engineering derived from photos posted on the Flickr social media platform combined with the specific urban destination street structure. The data science model that we developed for identifying international tourists produced an overall accuracy of 69% for Manhattan and 94% for Vienna and Prague, offering new tourism indicators such as repeat visits, travel distances, and short stays. The outcome of this study offers a better understanding of travel patterns among international tourists, which could improve international tourism management and promote a more practical and adaptable model for measuring and analyzing international tourism using machine learning and user-generated content.     

The influence of social media in creating expectations. An empirical study for a tourist destination

Social media are transforming the tourism industry from its traditional pattern into an intense informational pattern. Our study aims to investigate the causes underlying the use of user-generated contents (UGC) to receive tourist information and its effect on tourists’ expectations. Our empirical work was analysed by means of a multiple indicators multiple causes model (MIMIC) and a structural equation model (SEM). The main finding showed that when users receive UGC related to tourist destinations, they will create expectations about the destination by placing their trust in the contents received. It is recommended that tourism organizations should maintain the quality level in order to allow more UGC, and then further trust in the contents of social media and expectations will occur.     

Representation of online image of tourist destination: a content analysis of Huangshan

Online image of tourist destination has emerged as a crucial element in the construction of tourist destination image. The destination, along with the online tourism marketers, plays an increasingly significant role in forming online image of tourist destination. This study takes Huangshan as an example and collects photographic and textual information of Huangshan from its official online media and online tourism marketers. Built upon the semiotic theory, content analysis, and visual analysis are employed to explore the online image of Huangshan. The analysis comprises the coding manual formation, coding check, and formal encoding. The results indicate that online image of tourist destination of Huangshan is composed of three elements, that is, tourism resources, tourism facilities, and tourism services, which further comprise several secondary elements. Different information sources with different demonstration focuses of online image of tourist destination elements are different. Consistency tendency is in common among the demonstration of online image of tourist destination elements in different media forms.     

The impact of using non-media information sources on the future use of mass media information sources: The mediating role of expectations fulfillment

An empirical study of 350 tourists reveals that using non-media information sources for planning tourist trips influences expectations fulfillment. The use of non-media information sources also has a direct impact on the future use of mass media information sources for future tourist trip planning, as well as an indirect impact through expectations fulfillment. More specifically, the main determinants of expectations fulfillment of local infrastructure are commercial brochures, travel agents and internet; expectations fulfillment of entertainment structures is affected by institutional brochures, travel agents and the internet; future use of mass media sources is influenced by expectations fulfillment of local infrastructure and entertainment structures; this factor is also influenced by past use of institutional brochures and the internet. Discussion centers on the implications of this model to theory and managerial development of tourism and services strategies. Directions for future research are also presented.     

Visual destination images of Peru: Comparative content analysis of DMO and user-generated photography

With the arrival of new media and communication technologies in recent years, user-generated content (UGC) on the internet has increasingly been considered a credible form of word-of-mouth. Social media websites, such as Facebook, Flickr, and Panoramio, allow tourists to share their travel experiences with others by uploading travel photos online, an activity that has gained popularity among internet users. Unlike images created and projected by destination marketing organizations (DMOs), pictorial UGC reflects users' perceptions of a destination. This study compared images of Peru collected from a DMO's site and from Flickr, a photo-sharing website and identified statistical differences in several dimensions of these images. The study visualized these differences by constructing maps representing “aggregated” projected and perceived images of Peru, as well as maps of geographical distribution of the images.     

Network approach to tourist segmentation via user generated content

The study contributes to the tourism literature by demonstrating an approach to segmenting tourists using network analysis with user-generated content. Online reviews of destination attractions are considered as a proxy for visitation data reflective of tourists’ interests. The connectivity between attractions is represented with a network of links created by tourists visiting and reviewing multiple attractions. Attraction clusters are revealed by segmenting this network using network analysis tools. Two segmentation solutions are provided: a posteriori, in which only review information is taken into account, and mixed, in which tourist groups are defined a priori by their travel interests and age, and this information is combined with visitation information. The findings are validated using geovisualization and by comparing them with randomly simulated models.     

Come to Tana Toraja, “land of the heavenly kings”: Travel agents as brokers in ethnicity

This paper examines the role of tourist literature in the genesis of ethnic stereotypes. Considering the case of the Toraja of Sulawesi (Indonesia), it is suggested that travel agents are brokers in ethnicity, travel brochures being the tools of their trade. In the process of marketing images of exotic places and peoples, travel brochures draw upon a small set of indigenous ethnic markers, elaborating upon them to provide a mental grid through which the tourist filters his perceptions while abroad. These travel brochure images become indices of “authenticity” and the ethnic stereotypes generated by them become reified during the course of the tourist's visit abroad.     

Tourists’ digital footprint: The spatial patterns of tourist flows in Qingdao,China

Spatial patterns of tourist flows represent the movement of tourists and show differences in tourism resources giving advice for promoting balanced and sustainable tourism development. This paper proposes a novel framework for analyzing these patterns based on tourists' digital footprint data collected from online travel diaries. Based on illustrative case study data from Qingdao (China), the framework, combining traditional quantitative and social network analysis, is able to pinpoint: (1) The influence of distance decay and attractions’ popularity on the spatial patterns of tourist flows; (2) The uneven distribution of the core tourist nodes and the existence of the structural hole phenomenon, which form a network pattern with unbalanced power and intense internal competition; (3) The formation of the core area for tourism along the coastline – as is typical for coastal tourism cities. This difference of tourism resources between coastal and inland areas, thus, remains a challenge for future tourism development in Qingdao.     

Recent research in tourist behaviour

The study of tourist behaviour has become an active and significant contributor in the overall analysis of tourism. This paper considers recent research work at James Cook University, an institution whose researchers have had a long interest in tourist behaviour topics. A review of a number of recent research projects in tourist behaviour by the Australian research team is provided and the value of four integrating concepts linking this research is specified. The four concepts highlighted are the travel career ladder which is an approach to tourist motivation, cognitive steps and mindfulness, which are conceptual organisers of how people think and process information and social situations which provides an integrative view of key factors to consider when describing social behaviour. The paper concludes by highlighting some recent commentary on tourist behaviour trends by prominent tourism analysts noting that the specific stream of tourist behaviour studies reported in this article do not fully support the general trends noted by the commentators. The potential value of tourist behaviour studies as a benchmark for understanding tourism futures is noted     

Photo elicitation: Exploring tourist experiences with researcher-found images

This article provides an example of how researcher found-images have been used in a study where the tourist experience of intangible heritage is at the center. In this research, images were triangulated with in-depth interviews and participant observation in an attempt to flesh out the more intimate aspects of tourism experiences. It is suggested that photo elicitation, in its various forms, presents a fun, creative and multi-sensory alternative to conventional techniques. In this study, the use of researcher-found images in interviews proved to be a valuable tool to research tourist embodied experiences. While images offer many weighty advantages, some limitations do exist. Not only researcher-found images may introduce some positive bias into how informants recollect and present their experiences, but they may also lack the narrative power that visual materials assembled by research participants may have.     

Professional travellers and tourist practices

This study analyses to what extent conventional tourism is part of the experience of professional visitors. Following the literature on mobilities, this paper assumes that leisure and work increasingly intermingle in time and space. Empirical work based on a survey of conference attendants in Barcelona confirms this stance, and invites to reframe professional life ‘in mobility’ as performed as part of a wider package of everyday activities. Public transport and mobile communication are analysed as facilitators of such convergence, highlighting how professional travel is situated in flexible spaces and flows. These findings provide insights for urban (tourism) policy, insofar as they demonstrate that planning for specialised spaces is not sufficient to reduce visitor pressure on the main tourist ‘sights’.     

Positive psychology and tourist well-being: A systematic literature review

This paper examines the current state of research on well-being from tourism from the lens of positive psychology. A systematic review of 82 peer-reviewed articles published in English-language tourism journals indicate that tourist well-being is predominantly examined as a consequence of travel, rather than linked to tourism marketing and management. This study presents a conceptual framework of the antecedents, episodes and consequences of tourist well-being. Practically, results suggest strategies on how well-being can be used to generate better outcomes for tourism marketers and managers. By mapping what is known in the intersection between positive psychology and tourist well-being, this study identifies existing gaps and opportunities for future research in this area.     

Factors influencing Chinese tourist flow in Japan – a grounded theory approach

This study examined the factors influencing Chinese tourist flow in Japan. The study used a grounded theory to obtain insight into the tourist flow through text analysis of 96 online travel diaries and used these data to propose a model of factors. The model constitutes five categories: tourist condition (travel purpose, time budget, travel companion, prior visit experience, and opinions of others), destination characteristic (destination resource and distribution of destinations), transportation characteristic (transportation expense and transportation network), macro environment (visa policy and political relationship), and unforeseen circumstance (weather condition and fortuitous event). The study established a model for comprehensive understanding factors influencing tourist flow at inter-destination level.     

#Visitspain. Breaking down affective and cognitive attributes in the social media construction of the tourist destination image

The consolidation of social media as the main sphere for image formation for tourist destinations requires a reinterpretation of how and who is leading the image formation process. There are still some gaps in the literature regarding the structure of virtual (destination) brand communities and the nature and composition of user-generated content. Conducting a quantitative content analysis of a sample of some 1500 tweets in the Spain brand community on Twitter (#visitspain) has allowed the author to (1) identify stakeholders, (2) explore the nature and distribution of affective and cognitive attributes, (3) analyse relationships among those attributes and with tourism products and place brands, and (4) observe potential seasonal variations over the year. Findings indicate the need to consider those elements as relevant recommendations for practitioners.     

Tourist behavior analysis in gaming destinations based on venue check-in data

This research introduces the use of venue check-ins, which are available on mobile social media platforms, as an additional data source to study tourist behaviors in gaming destinations. The practical value of venue check-ins is demonstrated through a case study of Macau, a popular gaming and cultural destination. The analyses provide an overview of the travel patterns of tourists to gambling and non-gambling venues and highlight the differences between gambling and non-gambling tourists. The introduced approach is beneficial to tourism managers in understanding tourist behaviors and interests and, thus, improves the management and development of gaming destinations.     

The language of Japanese tourism

This paper discusses the way in which language is used in contemporary Japanese travel brochures. What concepts do travel agencies use to attract tourists? What themes continually recur in the advertising literature? Many of these concepts and themes are the same as those important to tourism in the Western world, but there are certain cultural themes or ways of treating tourist attractions which are peculiar to Japanese tourism. A second aim is to consider the “keywords” of Japanese tourism: those stressed in the advertising for domestic tourism and those stressed for international tourism. The relation between these two possibly antagonistic sets of keywords is discussed in terms of the ideological principles around which Japanese society is organized, and it is hypothesized that keywords for international tourism portend great and long-term changes in the fabric of Japanese society.     

The ubiquitous tourist brochure explorations in its intended and unintended use

The format and content of tourist attraction brochures are examined. Emphasis is on their function in encouraging tourists to establish authentic “traveler-like” personal contact with the local people and area. The Old Order Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is the setting studied. Findings indicate that brochures advertising staged tourist attractions implicity encourage tourists to move away from contact with the indigenous population and culture. Attractions are presented as convenient, efficient, and authentic means of “sampling” the region. Questions are raised about the probable consequences for a local area and its people, should large numbers of tourists choose to seek our direct and “authentic” contact with the indigenous community. It may be the staged attractions, while often the object of intellectual critique, protect the community from the pressures of mass tourism.     

Motivations for sharing tourism experiences through social media

Social media are increasingly relevant as part of tourism practices affecting destinations and businesses. Based on a destination-specific survey, this study charts and explores summer holidaymakers' motivations for social media contributions and their willingness to share content through various social media. The findings in relation to the much-visited destination of Mallorca offer an understanding of the adoption of tourist social media in technologically-advanced markets with high levels of ICT use. The results provide insights into such motivational factors as personal and community-related benefits as well as the social capital that influences a sharing of user-generated content. The study reveals a dominance of visual content, along with the relevance of altruistic and community-related motivations and motivational differences between types of content creators. Sharing practices through social media appear as valuable articulations of sociability and emotional support, while having lesser relevance as information sources for holiday decision-making. The paper additionally shows the extent to which old and new technologies overlap and complement each other.     

Role of source-destination proximity in international inbound tourist arrival: empirical evidences from India

This paper analyses the influence of source-destination proximity on the relationship between three key determinants of foreign tourist arrival and inbound international tourist volume in India. The data have been collected for top 11 source countries for a period of 1992–2013. By classifying source countries based on the air travel duration to the destination, three different clusters emerge. To analyze the data, panel modeling is used with a dependent variable having negative binomial distribution. The results of the overall panel modeling reveal that while Gross National Income (GNI) and Previous Year Arrival (PYA) are significant influence on inbound tourism demand but Relative Destination Price (RDP) is not. Further, the results show that for cluster 1 (nearby countries), only PYA is a significant influence; for cluster 2, PYA and GNI are significant; and for cluster 3, all three factors are significant. The findings have important implications for International Tourism Policy and Destination Marketing Programs.     

Scale development for tourist trust toward a tourism destination

The increasing occurrence of tourist trust crises in various destinations in recent years has made tourism researchers and practitioners aware of the important role of trust. However, the previous literature has not provided a generally recognized scale for measuring tourist trust toward tourism destinations. In the current study, a qualitative analysis of social media posts and a quantitative examination of destination visitors were used to measure and validate tourist trust in a destination. The results revealed that tourist trust in a destination consists of five dimensions involving multiple stakeholders, including authorities, tourists, residents, employees, and the agency, which demonstrated that each party in the overall ecosystem of tourism destination plays a critical role in building positive tourist trust. Evidence from about 1100 tourists' responses at multiple destinations indicated that tourist trust has a significant positive impact on destination image. The study findings have many theoretical and practical implications.