Analysing human mobility patterns of hiking activities through complex network theory

Abstract

The exploitation of high volume of geolocalized data from social sport tracking applications of outdoor activities can be useful for natural resource planning and to understand the human mobility patterns during leisure activities. This geolocalized data represents the selection of hike activities according to subjective and objective factors such as personal goals, personal abilities, trail conditions or weather conditions. In our approach, human mobility patterns are analysed from trajectories which are generated by hikers. We propose the generation of the trail network identifying special points in the overlap of trajectories. Trail crossings and trailheads define our network and shape topological features. We analyse the trail network of Balearic Islands, as a case of study, using complex weighted network theory. The analysis is divided into the four seasons of the year to observe the impact of weather conditions on the network topology. The number of visited places does not decrease despite the large difference in the number of samples of the two seasons with larger and lower activity. It is in summer season where it is produced the most significant variation in the frequency and localization of activities from inland regions to coastal areas. Finally, we compare our model with other related studies where the network possesses a different purpose. One finding of our approach is the detection of regions with relevant importance where landscape interventions can be applied in function of the communities.

Climate Preferences for Tourism: Perceptions Regarding Ideal and Unfavourable Conditions for Hiking in Spain

“…Temperate climates As regards the thermal facet, according to most of those questioned, the ideal range for maximum daily temperatures for hiking is 15-20 • C. These results are close to those obtained for mountain tourism by Scott [89], who established an ideal value of 20.5 • C (Table 3) and slightly higher than the range established by Lera et al [16] for hiking in Mallorca (Spain) of 10-15 • C (Table 3). When asked about the maximum acceptable temperatures for hiking, most respondents chose the 25-30 • C (32.7%) and 30-35 • C (45%) ranges, bearing in mind that maximum temperatures of over 25 • C are normally considered hot days [100].…”

“…This minimum threshold is similar to that considered for city tourism in China by Gou in 2015 (0 • C) [82]; or for hiking in France by Li in 2008 (<3.07 • C) [99]. However, it is significantly lower than that estimated for hiking in Mallorca (Spain) [16], which set a minimum limit of <7 • C. In any case the considerations of Steiger et al [92] must also be taken into account. These authors indicate that tourists who perform physical-activity-related leisure activities in mountain areas are more tolerant of low temperatures.…”

“…The increasing popularity of outdoor activities in recent years has produced a number of important economic impacts affecting a range of agents and activities [16]. One example is that more and more people choose to spend their holidays doing different physical activities [17] such as hiking, which is widely recognized as one of the most important attractions for tourists visiting natural areas.…”

“…One explicit reference to hiking appeared in a report by the Canadian Federal Ministry of the Environment in the 1970s, in which they proposed "physiognomic" types of weather for carrying out a range of tourism activities, including what they referred to as tourist walks [34,35]. A more recent study looked at the influence of atmospheric conditions on mountain hiking in Taiwan [36], while in Spain specific results were obtained by researchers studying hiking on the island of Mallorca [16].…”

The Recreational Trail of the El Caminito del Rey Natural Tourist Attraction, Spain: Determination of Hikers’ Flow

“…The reason is that trails provide an opportunity for accessing nature tourism attractions and limit their use or passage through specific places [8,13,19,23,24], either to reduce the risk of becoming lost, physical danger to the hiker, or damage to sensitive areas [25]. Orellana et al [21] and Lera et al [3] define the concept of the "relevant place" as a place where movement suspension patterns are detected, which could be associated with a relevant geographical characteristic of the terrain. Along this line, Chhetrei et al [15] and Ried et al [36] affirm that the perception of the landscape is a complex cognitive construction, in which the hikers will perceive the medium that surrounds them and its characteristics as something pleasant or unpleasant.…”