Departure Hall Research Articles

Social media sites and nightlife tourism: an empirical study of tourist decision-making on nightlife entertainment consumption

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the effect of tourists’ social media usage when planning trips on the probability of tourists consuming nightlife activities and their spending on nightlife consumption.Design/methodology/approachTwo thousand questionnaires comprising questions about social media usage, consumption of nightlife entertainment and decisions to consume nightlife activities are distributed to international visitors at the departure hall of Phuket International Airport. A series of regressions are estimated. A Heckman two-step correction model is conducted to avoid the potential of selection bias.FindingsResults show that the information available on Facebook positively links with the probability of tourists consuming nightlife activities. Furthermore, findings indicate that the usage of YouTube in tourist trip planning could statistically influence tourists to spend more on their nightlife consumption. Therefore, the results suggest that entrepreneurs could use Facebook to stimulate tourists’ nightlife consumption, while YouTube could be used to elevate tourists’ spending on nightlife consumption. The influence of these two social media sites on tourists’ decisions aids the authorities in the mitigation of the negative impacts of nightlife tourism.Originality/valueGiven the increasing role of social media in tourists’ consumption choices, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to quantitatively explore the relationship between tourists’ social media usage and nightlife consumption in Thailand. The revealed relationship between the use of specific social media sites (Facebook and YouTube) and tourists’ decisions to consume and the amount spent on nightlife consumption could be used by nightlife tourism entrepreneurs and destination marketers in their marketing campaigns, yielding competitive advantages. Meanwhile, related authorities and non-profit organisations could apply this study’s findings to demarket tourists’ consumption of nightlife activities in areas affected by the negative impacts of tourists’ nightlife consumption.

Energy Performance Evaluation of Domestic Airport Departure Hall TIA, Kathmandu

This research focuses on the energy performance of the building envelope of an Airport Terminal Building in Kathmandu, Nepal. This study explores how to improve thermal comfort Energy analysis through a quantitative analysis of the effect of thermal characteristics of the building envelope. Development of base model Revit and duplicated in Autodesk Insight. This study is about the operational electricity consumption, Peak Heating/cooling load and Energy use intensity of the building at domestic departure hall at Tribhuvan International Airport, Building envelops systems pose a great scope to reduce the energy consumption and consequently improve building efficiency. This research is concern with reduction of operational electricity consumption on Heating and cooling system Most part of the energy consumption is occupied by HVAC system and this consumption needs to be optimized to reduce whole energy consumption of the buildings.

Combining MAS-GiG Model and Related Problems to Optimization in Emergency Evacuation

Emergency evacuation is of paramount importance in protecting human lives and property while enhancing the effectiveness and preparedness of organizations and management agencies in responding to emergencies. In this paper, we propose a method for evacuating passengers to safe places with the shortest possible evacuation time. The proposed method is based on a multi-level multi-agent MAS-GiG model combined with three problems. First, constructing a path map to select the shortest path; second, dividing the space of the experimental environment into smaller areas for efficient management, monitoring, and guiding evacuation; the third, adjusting the speed to handle collision issues and maintain distance between two or more groups of evacuees while moving. We extend our previous study by establishing groups based on the location of passengers and using a MAS-GiG model to guide evacuation. We compare the proposed method with our previous method to provide specific evaluations for the research and research in the future. We tested two methods in the departure hall, first floor, Danang International Airport, Vietnam.

Optimization of an Airport Departure Hall Evacuation Plan Based on a Time-Varying Network Algorithm

As a highly dense area for passengers, the airport departure hall is particularly characterized by the easy gathering of passengers, irregularity, and difficulty in command, which has become a high incidence of emergencies. For the evacuation problem in case of emergencies, the vast majority of passengers randomly choose the shortest path from the exit to escape, which will lead to congestion at some nodes and prolonging of the evacuation time. Therefore, this study proposes a better evacuation method considering the dynamic change in the spatiotemporal congestion of passengers. First, this paper constructs an evacuation network diagram for the departure hall of the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport terminal building, simplifies the evacuation process into point-to-point evacuation, and proposes a time-varying network algorithm to optimize the emergency evacuation of the airport. Second, on the premise of obtaining the number and dynamic distribution of passengers in each area in real time, a linear programming model with the shortest evacuation time as the optimization objective is established, and the current optimal evacuation path of passengers is dynamically calculated. Finally, the two evacuation methods, random evacuation and evacuation, based on a time-varying network algorithm are simulated and analyzed by AnyLogic software. The results show that the evacuation scheme based on the time-varying network algorithm can effectively relieve the passenger congestion of some evacuation paths and safety exits. The evacuation time is reduced by 74 s, the evacuation efficiency is improved by 14%, passenger congestion at some evacuation routes and safety exits can be effectively relieved, and the global optimization of the emergency evacuation of passengers is achieved.

A NOVEL SCHEDULING APPROACH FOR PILGRIM FLIGHTS OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM

The main goal of airport administrations around the world is to facilitate the conduct of passenger services and reduce waiting time as much as possible. This can be achieved by regulating the flow of passengers at the various stages of the airport, including arrival and departure halls, passport checkpoints, luggage handling, and customs. This study focuses on improving the flow of passengers in the Hajj terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as it is one of the most welcoming stations for travelers during the Hajj season and is the fourth largest passenger terminal in the world. Three different optimization algorithms are applied to improve the scheduling process of assigning the arrival flights to available airport gates, as well as the stages inside the various airport lounges and areas. These algorithms are genetic algorithm (GA), harmony search algorithm (HSA), and differential evolution algorithm (DEA). The results give a prior knowledge of how the whole passengers’ arrival process and show the stages that are prone to congestion and cause process delay. Experimental performance results in terms of fitness value and convergence rate show that GA outperforms HSA and DEA when the population size is equal to 5, whereas DEA provides better performance compared to other algorithms when the population size is equal to 20 and 50. Moreover, the results show that the largest waiting time for passengers was in the arrival gate lounges due to the lack of allocated spaces in the passport areas, followed by the luggage area, then the passport control and customs areas, respectively.

A prediction model to forecast passenger flow based on flight arrangement in airport terminals

Passenger flow plays an important role in the indoor environment and energy consumption of airport terminals. In this paper, field investigations were carried out in four typical airport terminals with different scales and operation states to reveal the characteristics of passenger flow. A prediction model is established to forecast passengers’ distribution in the main areas of an airport terminal based on its flight arrangement. The results indicate the dislocation peaks of passenger numbers in these areas, due to the airport's departure process. The peak time interval is about 30 min between the check-in hall and the security check area, and 60–80 min between the check-in hall and the departure hall. RD value (i.e., the ratio of the actual passenger number in a certain area to the design value) is used to describe this peak shifting feature. When the annual passenger throughput of an airport terminal reaches or even exceeds its design value, the total peak RD value is normally 0.6–0.8. For the airport affected by COVID-19, the peak RD is only 0.2, which reflects the decline in terminal passenger numbers during the pandemic. This research provides useful insight into the characteristics of passenger flow in airport terminals, and is beneficial for their design and operation.

Numerical evaluation on indoor environment quality during high numbers of occupied passengers in the departure hall of an airport terminal

The rapid development of airports and the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have brought increased attention to indoor environment quality, airflow organization, key pollutant dispersion, and ventilation modes in airport terminals. However, the characteristics of these parameters, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) and aerosol diffusion, are not fully understood. Therefore, in this study, the airflow patterns; CO2 and aerosol dispersion; and several thermal environment indices, including temperature, wind velocity, and predicted mean vote (PMV), of an airport terminal departure hall with high numbers of occupied passenger were numerically evaluated using the realizable k-ε and passive scalar models. The efficacies of three common ventilation modes, namely, up-supply and up-return, up-supply and down-return with different sides, and up-supply and down-return with the same side, were evaluated based on the CO2 removal efficiency and spreading range of aerosols. The results indicated that under high numbers of occupied passenger conditions, these ventilation modes vary slightly, with respect to create a comfortable and healthy environment. In particular, the up-supply and down-return with different sides mode was the best among the modes considered, when comparing the indices of temperature, wind speed PMV, and CO2 emission efficiency. Conversely, with respect to decreasing the risk of aerosol exposure, the up-supply and down-return with the same side mode was the best. Overall, the results from this study provide fundamental information for predicting CO2 and aerosol exposure levels and will act as a reference for the design and operation of ventilation systems in airport terminal buildings.

Numerical Study on Coupled Operation of Stratified Air Distribution System and Natural Ventilation under Multi-Variable Factors in Large Space Buildings

Stratified air distribution systems are commonly used in large space buildings. The research on the airflow organization of stratified air conditioners is deficient in terms of the analysis of multivariable factors. Moreover, studies on the coupled operation of stratified air conditioners and natural ventilation are few. In this paper, taking a Shanghai Airport Terminal departure hall for the study, air distribution and thermal comfort of the cross-section at a height of 1.6 m are simulated and compared under different working conditions, and the effect of natural ventilation coupling operation is studied. The results show that the air distribution is the most uniform and the thermal comfort is the best (predicted mean vote is 0.428, predicted percentage of dissatisfaction is 15.2%) when the working conditions are 5.9% air supply speed, 11 °C cooling temperature difference and 0° air supply angle. With the coupled operation of natural ventilation, the thermal comfort can be improved from Grade II to Grade I.

The effect of brand heritage in tourists' intention to revisit

PurposeUtilising brand equity dimensions, this study aims to enhance the literature by conceptualising and testing heritage brand equity dimensions (i.e. awareness, image, quality and value) and the intentions of international tourists to revisit moderated by safety and security within the tourism sector.Design/methodology/approachThe study was cross-sectional in nature and used the quantitative research approach with questionnaires for the collection of data. In total, 392 international tourists were purposively sampled from the departure hall of Kotoka International Airport. The data gathered were analysed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM).FindingsThe findings revealed that heritage brand image, perceived quality and value had positive significant effects on the intentions of tourists to revisit. Nevertheless, heritage brand awareness had a negative insignificant impact on intentions to revisit. Safety and security significantly moderate the relationship between heritage brand equity and the intentions of international tourists to revisit.Research limitations/implicationsThe Ghana tourism industry should increase the activities that will create more awareness, to generate the interest of potential tourists within the international community. Such initiatives can increase the likelihood of the destination being visited. In addition, policymakers must guarantee that associated government entities, as well as other stakeholders, work together within the tourism industry to promote safety and security.Originality/valueThis study adds to the ongoing discussions in the hospitality and tourism industry by providing a comprehensive overview of brand equity in heritage tourism, operationalised as heritage brand equity dimensions.

Energy audit and evaluation of indoor environment condition inside Assiut International Airport terminal building, Egypt

Large space buildings, such as airport terminal buildings, consume high energy due to the cooling demand; especially in hot arid climates; to achieve passenger thermal comfort. Evaluation of thermal environment and energy analysis inside airports is an important issue, in terms of reducing energy and controlling indoor environments. This work aims to analyze electrical energy consumption and the indoor environment of the terminal building at Assiut International Airport, Egypt as a case study. Indoor environmental conditions, and energy consumption with HVAC systems, were monitored inside five multiple functional zones within the terminal building (Departure hall, Public area, Duty-free hall, Gate, and Arrival hall) during summer (August 2017). The indoor environmental parameters monitored include: temperature, relative humidity, and illuminance. The results indicate the HVAC system consumed the largest portion (70%) of the overall building electricity demand, and the Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of ATZ terminal building is 300 kWh/m 2 /year. Also, indoor temperatures were found to be within the acceptable range of comfort, with a high energy consumption of 6,000,000 kWh for the year 2017. A significant reduction of monthly energy consumption was achieved based on increasing HVAC set temperature from 25 °C to 27 °C; a reduction equal to 24.5% of total energy consumption during the hot months. The results of this study help search for sustainable solutions for reducing energy consumption and improving passenger thermal comfort inside the terminal building (phase 2).

Modeling and Simulation of Departure Passenger’s Behavior Based on an Improved Social Force Approach: A Case Study on an Airport Terminal in China

The unprecedented growth of passenger throughput in large airport terminals highlights the importance of analyzing passengers’ movement to achieve airport terminal’s elaborate management. Based on the theory of original social force model, video data from a departure hall of a large airport terminal in China were analyzed to summarize passengers’ path planning characteristics. Then, a double‐level model was established to describe passengers’ path planning behaviors. At the decision level of the proposed model, the avoiding force model including common avoiding force and additional horizontal avoiding force was established on the basis of setting time and space limitations for taking avoiding action and was used to describe passengers’ path planning in close‐range space. At the tactical level of the proposed model, the route and node choice models were established to describe passengers’ path planning in long‐range space. In the route choice model, a distribution of intermediate destination areas was proposed, with detouring distance, pedestrian density, speed difference, and pedestrian distribution considered in choosing an intermediate destination area. In the node choice model, the walking distance, the quantity of people waiting, and luggage were considered in choosing a check‐in counter or security check channel. The main parameters of the proposed model were confirmed according to video data. Simulation results show that the proposed model can simulate departure passengers’ path planning behaviors at an acceptable accuracy level.

Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding travel health among (King Abdulaziz) international airport travelers in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2019.

Background:Travelers to different countries have endemic/pandemic diseases can increase the risk of exposure to various infectious agents and can facilitate their spread across borders.Objectives:To determine the levels of travel health knowledge, attitudes and practices among travelers at international airports of KSA.Methods:An observational cross-sectional study was conducted starting from 30 September, 2019 at the departure halls of King Abdulaziz International airport (KAIA). Representative sample adult travelers who were waiting to board were recruited.Results and Discussion:Good level of knowledge regarding travel health was observed among 28.2%. The majority of the participants (84.7%) got information about their destination prior to the trip. The main reported source of information was family/friends (53.8%). Negative health seeking behavior was observed among 70.8% of the participants. Purpose of the trip and duration of destination were significantly associated with health seeking behavior. Knowledge, attitude towards health information seeking behavior and practice-related to travel health among international travelers at King Abdulaziz International airport are insufficient.

Airport Landside Sustainable Capacity and Level of Service of Terminal Functional Subsystems

The airport terminal is a complex building composed of many functional subsystems dimensioned to host passenger traffic, considering an appropriate level of service (LoS). The most widely known method to assess the LoS and design the terminal areas is the Airport Development Reference Manual by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Based on this, a calculation tool in Microsoft Excel® was implemented to assess the capacity and dimension of the facilities for each functional subsystem of the terminal. The tool, composed of nine correlated spreadsheets, is a useful model to design new structures, evaluate the LoS currently offered, plan interventions, and face the new rules of passenger distancing due to the COVID-19 emergency. An international airport terminal with 20 million/year including Schengen and extra-Schengen passengers was studied. The LoS of the terminal subsystems was assessed and the areas needed for each subsystem were calculated. In the analyzed case study, most subsystems (departure hall, check-in, boarding gates, baggage claim, and arrival halls) were over-designed, according to the definition of the IATA LoS. This means that available spaces for queues and holding are sufficiently large to easily face the new rules of social distancing for passengers due to the recent COVID-19 emergency.

Lying about flying: The efficacy of the information protocol and model statement for detecting deceit

SummaryDue to time constraints, interviews aimed to detect deception in airport settings should be brief and veracity assessments should be made in real time. In two experiments carried out in the departure hall of an international airport, truth tellers were asked to report truthfully their forthcoming trip, whereas liars were asked to lie about the purpose of their trip. In Experiment 1, we examined five verbal cues that we thought had potential to discriminate truth tellers from liars in short airport interviews: elaboration in disclosing information, checkable details, how many people are aware of the trip, complications, and plausibility. In Experiment 2, we attempted to improve the interview protocol by adding a second interview phase in which we introduced an information protocol and model statement. All five cues differentiated truth tellers from liars in both experiments, but the information protocol and model statement did not enhance these differences.

Lessons from the Brussels Terrorist Attack

Introduction:On March 22, 2016, the capital of Europe was hit by two terrorist attacks. As terrorism becomes more and more violent, it is critical to learn and share experiences in order to enhance effectiveness in saving lives.Methods:A field perspective and experience feedback from the Emergency Medical Response.Results:The first attack hit the departure hall of the airport, which, due to its strategic role, relies upon a dedicated emergency plan. However, it focuses on airplane crashes and not on explosions in a crowded terminal. The second attack hit the subway at rush hour. An attack in such a confined environment is particularly challenging for the rescue teams, as injuries are worsened, access hindered, and exits numerous.Eleven medical teams were sent in order to perform triage and provide vital care. The medical response was organized by two disaster response teams. Advanced Medical Posts were set up and the mass casualty plans of all hospitals were activated. Managing war injuries for civilian teams was challenging. On-site care consisted essentially in prehospital damage control and burn care in order to ensure rapid evacuations for haemostatic surgery. 313 victims were dispatched to thirty hospitals. Another challenge was safety. Several threats were apparent and explosives were found on both sites. Lessons from Paris had prompted a review of our multiple sites Emergency Plan. One single way of communication was used and the evacuations were managed centrally. Finally, the key factor that helped limit the number of casualties was the acquaintanceship between emergency workers and non-medical teams built during exercises, allowing them to adapt and blend in as one team.Discussion:Lessons from previous attacks were crucial to improve our management of the medical response. These should be shared around, as another attack may always occur anywhere and at any time.

Travel Health Survey: Risk Perception, Health-Seeking Behavior, and Subjective Evaluation of Travel Health Services in Egypt

Introduction: Travel health practice and research in Egypt lag behind both needs and demands. This study was done in two parts to assess travel health knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among Egyptian travelers. Methods: This survey was conducted at the departure halls of Cairo International Airport and included 1500 travelers to Africa (excluding North Africa), Southeast Asia, and Latin America. An interview questionnaire was used to measure the KAP of travelers inquiring about different aspects of pre-travel health. Subjective evaluations of travel health services and suggestions for improvement were also solicited. Results: Travelers in this study were mainly males (89.3%), less than 40 years of age (82%), living in urban residences (89.1%), married (65.9%), university educated (83.3%), traveling for work (69.1%) with destinations of Africa (61.3%), Asia (28.4%), and Latin America (10.3%). They had poor travel-associated risk perception, and only 13.4% had risk management plan. Less than half (42.4%) sought information about their destination, and 11.9% sought health information; their source of information was mainly the internet (98.7%). The majority had poor scores on various travel-related practices, including seeking pre-travel health services (87.9%), receiving pre-travel vaccines (91.3%), and using malaria chemoprophylaxis (90.6%). The travel health services were rated good by 0.5% of travelers and bad, very bad, or undetermined by 11.4%, 61.3%, and 26.9% respectively. Conclusion: Egyptian travelers, although mostly educated, had poor travel health perceptions and practices and are unsatisfied with the travel health services in Egypt.

Field investigation on characteristics of passenger flow in a Chinese hub airport terminal

The occupants are one of the major factors influencing indoor environment and building energy consumption. As for airport terminal buildings, the passenger flow distinguishes them from other common public buildings. Thus, the relevant researches are of significant necessity, especially in the recent airport construction boom in China. This paper describes the field investigations of passenger flow in each public area (i.e., check-in hall, departure hall, arrival hall, baggage claim area, arrival passage and transfer hall) of a Chinese hub airport terminal in typical three months of three different seasons. The passengers' dwell time and the total occupant number are two mainly surveyed parameters. The results show large differences in the characteristics of passenger flow between various areas in the terminal building. Furthermore, based on the surveyed dwell time distributions of passengers and the real-time data of passenger flow intensities, the total number of occupants in the check-in hall and the departure hall can be estimated separately. This prediction model will be useful both in design and operation processes of an airport terminal.

Impact of atmospheric particulate matter pollutants to IAQ of airport terminal buildings: A first field study at Tianjin Airport, China

Passengers usually spend hours in the airport terminal buildings waiting for their departure. During the long waiting period, ambient fine particles (PM2.5) and ultrafine particles (UFP) generated by airliners may penetrate into terminal buildings through open doors and the HVAC system. However, limited data are available on passenger exposure to particulate pollutants in terminal buildings. We conducted on-site measurements on PM2.5 and UFP concentration and the particle size distribution in the terminal building of Tianjin Airport, China during three different seasons. The results showed that the PM2.5 concentrations in the terminal building were considerably larger than the values guided by Chinese standard and WHO on all of the tested seasons, and the conditions were significantly affected by the outdoor air (Spearman test, p < 0.01). The indoor/outdoor PM2.5 ratios (I/O) ranged from 0.67 to 0.84 in the arrival hall and 0.79 to 0.96 in the departure hall. The particle number concentration in the terminal building presented a bi-modal size distribution, with one mode being at 30 nm and another mode at 100 nm. These results were totally different from the size distribution measured in a normal urban environment. The total UFP exposure during the whole waiting period (including in the terminal building and airliner cabin) of a passenger is approximately equivalent to 11 h of exposure to normal urban environments. This study is expected to contribute to the improvement of indoor air quality and health of passengers in airport terminal buildings.

Public transport mode preferences of international tourists in Ghana: Implications for transport planning

Generally, most studies on tourism in Ghana have laid emphasis on motivations and experiences of tourists, their preference for accommodation and restaurant facilities, and the quality of services rendered at these facilities ignoring a significant component of tourism, which is transportation. This paper examines public transport mode preferences of international tourists in Ghana. Primary data were collected from 479 out-bound international tourists at the departure hall of the Kotoka International Airport in Ghana between June and August 2015. The analyses of the study were done using frequencies, charts, chi-square statistic and multinomial logistic regression model. The study found that generic dimensions of transport services such as their affordability, accessibility, availability, safety and comfort influence public transport mode choice of international tourists in Ghana. Aside these factors, there were strong relationships between socio-demographic characteristics of tourists and their mode preference. It is therefore recommended that emphasis should be given to accessibility-based transport planning in order to help public transport provide quality services to meet the transport needs of international tourists.

A Socio-demographic Study of Destination Management for Coastal Tourism in Phuket

This study examined the effects of socio-demographic variables on destination satisfaction with beaches in Phuket, Thailand, a renowned Sea-Sand-Sun destination. Phuket has consistently been top ranked for coastal tourism, with 12.5 million tourists generating USD 9.04 million (34.62 THB = 1 USD as of April 30, 2017) revenue in 2015. In order to study the relationship between demographic variables and satisfaction, a survey was given to 1,221 visitors in the departure hall of Phuket International Airport. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed to examine the interaction between tourist socio-demographics and tourist satisfaction. The findings showed nationality had the most significant influence on the overall tourist satisfaction with Maikhao beach, Surin-Bangtao beach, and Kata-Karon beach. Education was a significant factor concerning Patong-Kamala beach, and income was directly correlated with tourist satisfaction in the case of Kata-Karon beach. Additional analysis showed that being a first time visitor or repeat visitor, and number of nights spent had significant effects on tourist satisfaction. The findings reveal considerable differences in satisfaction levels between tourists’ profiles and destinations that will be essential in helping tourism decision makers, local government and businesses to comprehensively manage and market to specific tourist segments.