Building Tourism Networks through Tourist Mobility

Abstract

This article aims to define tourism networks analyzing tourist mobility between destinations. The study adopts network analysis methods, testing a data processing strategy that combines descriptive measurements and clustering tools. A segmentation approach has been employed to investigate differences or similarities between the trip-related attributes of tourists within networks. Data are from a sampling survey carried out on tourists' visit in Sicily. The results show that the tourist choice defined the role of a destination as "central" or "peripheral" within a network. Tourists build their own networks around nodal destinations, even if they are geographically distant. Thus, tourist mobility affects the shape, the dimension, and the structure of the networks, where tourists are different for characteristics, trip-related behaviors, and type of holiday chosen. The study provides some evidence that can be useful for planning tourism facilities, managing tourism routes, and defining destination management strategies.

Using the Network and MCA on Tourist Attractions. The Case of Aeolian Islands, Italy

“…We wanted to examine the phenomenon from two points of view. The network analysis NA allowed us to see the attraction of places and the mobility of visitors to visit and move from one place to another on the island, which in line with previous studies [28,32] though of different area. We used the MCA to examine the profiles of the interviewed subjects.…”

“…Among the researches on network analysis in tourist literature, the attractiveness of the places visited in relation to identity and value motivations has been little investigated. Only a few researchers seem to have examined attraction networks as informed by tourists' free choice, intra-destination movements [31,32]. In these cases the correlation between the tourist flows and the network connections between the destinations is highlighted.…”

Geomedia`s Role in the Geosystem Development: Dracula`s Spatial Imaginaries in Romania

“…Lai and Li (2016), argued that tourist`s destination image reveals the mental perceptions held by visitors about a place (0.196/9-Bran, 0.220/9-Sighișoara). Sighișoara (0.195/8) and Bran (0.217/10) geo-referenced illustrations score demonstrate their central and effective Geosystems, which is in line with Asero et al (2016) explained how tourist may perceive a tourism area as central or peripheral within a network. The local communities are actively contributing to the valorization of their place unique attribute, Dracula (Fig.…”

Why do tourists differ in their likelihood to visit attractions? The case of Lanzarote

“…Knowing how and where tourists travel has been of interest to researchers for many years (Shaw, Agarwal, & Bull, ). Despite this and the numerous implications that could result from this type of analysis (Asero, Gozzo, & Tomaselli, ; Kádár, ), few studies have analyzed how tourists behave in tourism destinations (McKercher & Lau, ; Shoval, McKercher, Ng, & Birenboim, ). According to McKercher and Lau (), this is because the collection and analysis of data related to the movements made by tourists are complicated tasks.…”