Expert Consensus Versus Statistical Techniques in the Delimitation of Tourism Destinations

Abstract

Delimitation of the boundaries of local tourism destinations has been proposed as a useful tool to obtain spatially-detailed statistical information to improve their decision-making and management. In the case of the Canary Islands, a leading tourism region, expert consensus supported by criteria based on supply characteristics has been used to set the boundaries of local destinations. This paper aims to analyse the characteristics of these established local destinations and test if statistical methods may provide better or different results than expert consensus from the perspective of destinations’ internal homogeneity and the differences between them. After applying descriptive and analytical statistical methods, the results confirm the evidence found in other delimitation exercises in social sciences. The consensus of experts, or subjectivity, provides consistent results that are, by and large, confirmed by statistical analysis. While statistical methods can provide new insights for delimitation, pure statistical methods can sometimes be misleading if stakeholders’ knowledge is not considered.

Exploring the relationships between perceived neighborhood boundaries and street network orientation

“…Here, however, we are engaged in exploring first the variability, distribution, and agreement regarding perceived boundaries before establishing defined regions. Indeed, depending on the application, researchers and planners should run descriptive and sensitivity analyses to understand how the variables of interest would change according to different spatial definitions (Rodríguez‐Rodríguez & Hernández‐Martín, 2020). The findings of our study case were able to empirically showcase relationships between the spatial logic underlying perceived boundary orientations of neighborhoods and the one rendered by the street fabric.…”

“…While it is acknowledged that the street network is fundamental in building the cognitive image of the city (Filomena et al, 2019; Jiang, 2007), spatial correlations between perceived neighborhoods and urban thoroughfares have not received much attention. As streets act as boundaries and orientation anchors in residents' conceptions, they are frequently used in delineation methods for those neighborhoods or areas of interest that lack official, legal, or operational definitions of their extents (Deng, 2016; Rodríguez‐Rodríguez & Hernández‐Martín, 2020). Associations between perceived boundaries and urban fabric orientations can generate insights and empirical evidence for enhancing current spatial definitions as well as for creating meaningful units by planners and policy‐makers.…”

Tourist Renewal as a Strategy to Improve the Competitiveness of an Urban Tourist Space: A Case Study in Maspalomas-Costa Canaria

“…A high-level density seems to be inherent to the urban layout itself [50]. But if the urbanization is based on tourist activity and, therefore, destined for leisure and rest, high density can become a characteristic that worsens the perception of the destination and the visitors' own experience, because it also projects an image of low-quality urban space [51].…”

Multicriteria Decision Making in Sustainable Tourism and Low-Carbon Tourism Research

“…Equal communication, coordination, and relationships among stakeholders are a necessity in the development of sustainable tourism policies (Guo et al, 2019;Iazzi et al, 2020;Wanner et al, 2020); however, the use of mutually verifiable approaches, including most 'objective' methods that are measurable but less recommended in the context of social goals, and 'subjective' perceptions, in particular those based on attitudes, experiences, perceptions, and levels of stakeholder satisfaction, which are highly contextual for all tourism stakeholders in the area, is the optimal solution in planning sustainable tourism (Butowski, 2021;Rasoolimanesh et al, 2020;Rodríguez-Rodríguez & Hernández-Martín, 2020). The approach or method that meets these characteristics and criteria is MCDM.…”