Experienced Travel Research Articles

An Android Smart City Traveller App (NaviCity)

Discover the cutting-edge and adaptable "Smart City Traveler App" that elevates the journey of individuals discovering unfamiliar cities. Through the utilization of state-of-the-art technologies, this mobile application expertly evaluates user preferences, time limitations, and curiosities, supplying individuals with custom travel plans and suggestions. With the ultimate purpose of enhancing sightseeing for both new and experienced travelers, the app commences with registration where users are prompted to input crucial information for tailoring their exploration. By leveraging the comprehensive location data collected through the Google Places API, the app guarantees a wealth of information on countless destinations for users to access. The Smart City Traveler App, constructed with a sleek combination of Flutter and Firebase, takes the hassle out of trip planning by aggregating top FourSquare rankings. With an intuitive interface, users can easily peruse and utilize this wealth of information to make informed choices. Not only does the app boast detailed maps pinpointing points of interest, but it also offers up various routes to maximize time efficiency. In the case of longer stays, the app even suggests exciting adventure activities or refreshing water parks, based on highly rated reviews. Incorporating Google Maps, the Smart City Traveler App puts the power in users' hands to confidently explore the city. Transforming city exploration into an unforgettable journey, this app is a must-have for adventurous travelers. Seamlessly blending cutting-edge technology with the thrill of discovery, the Smart City Traveler App is a testament to the endless possibilities of merging travel and technology. With personalized features and efficient optimization, it empowers users to fully indulge in the urban landscape, tailored to their own preferences and constraints.

The role of badges to spur frequent travelers to write online reviews

研究目的在线旅游评论平台已成为创新的信息系统, 这也是由于结合了复杂的游戏化元素, 例如具有视觉吸引力的徽章。本研究旨在分析升级徽章后评论的三个特征：评论长度（字数）、情绪评分和两次连续评论之间的时间段（距离撰写下一次评论的天数）。研究设计/方法/途径本研究使用数据挖掘方法分析了由 100 位常旅客和贡献者撰写的总共 77,000 条在线 TripAdvisor 评论。然后进行基于数据的敏感性分析 (DSA), 以提供对数据挖掘训练模型的理解。研究发现结果表明, 具有自我自豪感（“徽章护照”）和同行认可（“徽章有帮助”）的徽章在在线评论的整个生命周期中具有显着影响, 而仅通过计算贡献来授予徽章几乎没有影响。研究原创性本研究首次分析了经验丰富的旅行者在获得徽章和积分时受到的影响。奖励标准贡献徽章的内在动机因素几乎不会影响用户行为。需要设计徽章来奖励那些并非微不足道且不完全取决于用户的成就。

The influence of the Crown of Polish Mountains on the attitudes of its ascensionists

Abstract The aim of this article is to identify the changes in the (intra- and interpersonal) attitudes of experienced travellers after climbing the highest peaks of the 28 mountain ranges in Poland. The survey was conducted on 617 members of the Club of the Ascensionists of the Crown of Polish Mountains. The respondents provided subjective evaluations of the changes in their attitudes (in nine proposed areas) that resulted from regular mountain hikes. The obtained results demonstrated a significant improvement in the practical skills related to mountain climbing, which was greater than the change in attitudes to other people and the physical condition of the respondents. The most significant changes concerned knowledge of Polish mountains, ability to plan trips, and persistence in pursuing goals. Statistically significant differences were also found between the ages, genders, and frequency of trips (in particular in reference.

Managing campgrounds and “glampgrounds”

Research methodology Ethnographic interview/observation; analysis of public data; literature review. Case overview/synopsis As of 2020, camping was growing in popularity among new and experienced travelers. The growth of the outdoor accommodation type led to for-profit and nonprofit campgrounds operating at or near capacity during peak season. Camping Coast-To-Coast (CCTC), a for-profit camping business that managed approximately 500 campgrounds in the USA, was struggling to meet growth objectives because they too were operating at or near capacity at most of their campgrounds. This case analyzes a newly proposed strategy: developing glamping campgrounds (i.e. glampgrounds) near CCTC’s existing traditional campgrounds. Glamping is a luxurious form of camping characterized by modern amenities and services. The chief executive officer (CEO) was not only able to identify several opportunities that would support a recommended pilot glampground but also identified several threats and firm weaknesses that could deter travelers from paying premium prices for luxurious glampground accommodations. The CEO was left wondering: should I recommend a new glampground development to investors and board members at an upcoming annual meeting or not? Complexity academic level The case was developed with two purposes in mind: to be taught in an outdoor tourism management course (junior level) and to be used for association to advance collegiate schools of business master of business administration accreditation to measure four learning objectives: decision-making, problem-solving, application of business frameworks and writing. Thus, this case is optimal for upper-level undergraduate or graduate management and tourism courses including principles of management, strategic management and tourism management.

Hosts and Guests: Surfers' Experiences of Travel and Tourism in the First Wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people experienced travel disruptions and tourism destinations felt the economic sting of low visitor numbers. Using online interviews, this study followed 29 surfers over the course of 6 months to explore their experiences of the pandemic as travelers and hosts within tourism destinations in the US, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. It examines the effect of the pandemic on their travel plans, travel experiences, and tourism destinations where they lived. Many participants experienced travel disruptions and had to go through different decision-making and behavioral processes when they did travel. They also had conflicting feelings about decreased numbers of tourists at the beginning of the pandemic and when tourists began to return. The results have implications for travel companies to maintain flexible policies and the need to diversify coastal economies and possibly implement more separation between tourists and residents.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CROSS-COUNTRY APPROACH AND THE ROLE OF DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ORGANISATIONS IN CREATING NEW TOURISM PRODUCTS: THE CASE OF SIAULIAI, JONISKIS (LITHUANIA) AND JELGAVA (LATVIA)

INTRODUCTION
 Destination is used as a synonym for attraction; destination can also be defined as a specific brand or product, or a product package or selection of products and services compiled according to climate, infrastructure, natural and cultural features. Destination is defined as a place where tourists can rest, walk, spend their time in nature, see historical monuments, attend festivals, events, taste local cuisine and be part of unique events. Combining the last approach with traditional geographic or administrative aspects, we may define a destination as an administrative or geographically defined area where tourists can rest, walk, spend their time in nature, see historical monuments, attend festivals, events, taste local cuisine and be part of unique events. With a new trend of local travel, the promotion of regions that were not among top visited destinations becomes essential in trying to attract local travellers in the short term. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of promotional and organisational factors on travellers’ intentions to visit two destinations in Lithuania and one in Latvia.
 
 HYPOTHESES
 Key hypothesis of this study – can sustainable cross region or cross border cooperation initiate higher tourist interest in formerly less visited destinations and what steps do we need to take to create valuable proposals.
 
 METHODS AND MATERIALS
 Analysis of scientific literature and secondary data, descriptive statistical analysis.Destination management has historically placed emphasis on the management of demand and supply, visitor experience and maintenance of competitive advantage. This has been enhanced through the application of modern marketing techniques (Buhalis & Sinarta, 2019; Gretzel & Scarpino-Johns, 2018; Kabadayi, Ali, Choi, Joosten, & Lu, 2019; Polese, Botti, Grimaldi, Monda, & Vesci, 2018). Our study shows that many destinations lack a clearly stated value separately, as they are mostly too small to attract the attention of experienced travellers.
 
 RESULTS
 We have collected all the possible sights, historical background and created 20 different routes that combine the object of project stakeholders – Siauliai, Joniskis and Jelgava districts, bearing in mind that enhancing greater cooperation might help to create better stories, use a historical element, and attract the attention of experienced travellers.
 We clarified that DMO’s are still heavily focused on the classical promotion of their attractions. This is why this first stage of research implemented a new methodology based on which regional DMO’s can create cooperation and develop easy-to-use products. The authors put a content orientated approach and not infrastructure created experience at the forefront.
 Justifying our hypothesis, we found that any less visited destination can acquire additional interest by combining objects from more than one district or well-known country.But the most important question that we were solving is how to satisfy all the stake holders and not to benefit one partner.We have tested our offered model by creating an actual product.
 CONCLUSIONS
 Destination resilience is becoming an important area of research, with DMO’s becoming the key players in the development of more adaptive strategies, managing the risks, and furthermore, attracting visitors to most of the local objects. DMO’s lack appropriate models that can help them to market their destination more. A ready-to-use and tested model can become a good example for any DMO that is eager to attract more visitors by creating products that reflect a modern traveller’s needs.

Predictors of possible exposure to rabies in travellers: A case-control study

BackgroundTimely administration of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can prevent rabies. For non-vaccinated persons, PEP consists of multiple vaccinations and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) on indication. Since RIG is scarce, the need for PEP could be restricted through preventing animal contact and pre-exposure vaccination. We aimed to identify determinants for possible rabies exposure among travellers to provide more targeted pre-travel advice. MethodA case-control study was performed. Cases were defined as persons with a possible rabies exposure (category II or III injury according to WHO classification guidelines) in a rabies endemic country. Controls did not report exposure during travel. Multivariable logistic regression was performed. Results229 cases and 1427 controls were included. Predictors (p < 0.05) of possible rabies exposure were young age, male sex, travelling to Western or Southeastern Asia, visiting a monkey park, pet ownership, previously visited the same country and considering oneself an experienced traveller. Negative predictors were travelling for business, visiting friends and relatives, and fear of animals. ConclusionsPre-travel advice should take the identified predictors into account to provide better targeted information and pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Fixed-Time Traffic Control at Superstreet Intersections by Bee Colony Optimization

The superstreet intersection (or restricted crossing U-turn-, J-turn intersection) fixed-time traffic control system was developed in this study. The optimal (or near-optimal) values of cycle length, splits, and offsets were discovered by minimizing the experienced travel time of all network users traveling through the superstreet intersection. The optimization procedure used was based on the bee colony optimization (BCO) metaheuristic. The BCO is a stochastic, random-search, population-based technique, inspired by the foraging behavior of honey bees. The BCO belongs to the class of swarm intelligence methods. A set of numerical experiments was performed. Superstreet intersection configurations that allowed direct left turns from the major street, as well as configurations with no direct left turns, were analyzed within numerical experiments. The obtained results showed that BCO outperformed the traditional Webster approach in the superstreet geometrical configurations considered.

771 IMPACT OF NATIONWIDE CENTRALIZATION OF ESOPHAGEAL, GASTRIC, AND PANCREATIC SURGERY ON TRAVEL DISTANCE AND EXPERIENCED BURDEN IN THE NETHERLANDS

Abstract This study aims to assess the impact of nationwide centralization of surgery on travel distance and travel burden among patients with esophageal-, gastric-, and pancreatic cancer according to age in the Netherlands. As centralization of care increases to improve postoperative outcomes, travel distance and experienced burden might increase. Methods All patients who underwent surgery between 2006–2017 for esophageal-, gastric- and pancreatic cancer in the Netherlands were included. Travel distance between patient’s home address and hospital of surgery in kilometers was calculated. Questionnaires were used to assess experienced travel burden in a subpopulation (n = 239). Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models were constructed to identify predictors for longer travel distance. Results Over 23,838 patients were included, in whom median travel distance for surgical care increased for esophageal cancer (n = 9,217) from 18 to 28 km, for gastric cancer (n = 6,743) from 9 to 26 km and for pancreatic cancer (n = 7,878) from 18 to 25 km (all p &amp;lt; 0.0001). Multivariable analyses showed an increase in travel distance for all cancer types over time. In general, patients experienced a physical and social burden, and higher financial costs, due to travelling extra kilometers. Patients aged &amp;gt;70 years travelled less often independently (56% versus 68%), as compared to patients aged ≤70 years. Conclusion With nationwide centralization, travel distance increased for patients undergoing esophageal-, gastric-, and pancreatic cancer surgery. Younger patients travelled longer distances and experienced a lower travel burden, as compared to elderly patients. Nevertheless, on a global scale travel distances in the Netherlands remain limited.

Impact of nationwide centralization of oesophageal, gastric, and pancreatic surgery on travel distance and experienced burden in the Netherlands

BackgroundThis study aims to assess the impact of nationwide centralization of surgery on travel distance and travel burden among patients with oesophageal, gastric, and pancreatic cancer according to age in the Netherlands. As centralization of care increases to improve postoperative outcomes, travel distance and experienced burden might increase. Materials and methodsAll patients who underwent surgery between 2006 and 2017 for oesophageal, gastric and pancreatic cancer in the Netherlands were included. Travel distance between patient's home address and hospital of surgery in kilometres was calculated. Questionnaires were used to assess experienced travel burden in a subpopulation (n = 239). Multivariable ordinal logistic regression models were constructed to identify predictors for longer travel distance. ResultsOver 23,838 patients were included, in whom median travel distance for surgical care increased for oesophageal cancer (n = 9217) from 18 to 28 km, for gastric cancer (n = 6743) from 9 to 26 km, and for pancreatic cancer (n = 7878) from 18 to 25 km (all p < 0.0001). Multivariable analyses showed an increase in travel distance for all cancer types over time. In general, patients experienced a physical and social burden, and higher financial costs, due to traveling extra kilometres. Patients aged >70 years travelled less often independently (56% versus 68%), as compared to patients aged ≤70 years. ConclusionWith nationwide centralization, travel distance increased for patients undergoing oesophageal, gastric, and pancreatic cancer surgery. Younger patients travelled longer distances and experienced a lower travel burden, as compared to elderly patients. Nevertheless, on a global scale, travel distances in the Netherlands remain limited.

Improving Interstate Freeway Travel Time Reliability Analysis by Clustering Travel Time Distributions

Travel time reliability quantifies variability in travel times and has become a critical aspect for evaluating transportation network performance. The empirical travel time cumulative distribution function (CDF) has been used as a tool to preserve inherent information on the variability and distribution of travel times. With advances in data collection technology, probe vehicle data has been frequently used to measure highway system performance. One challenge with using CDFs when handling large amounts of probe vehicle data is deciding how many different CDFs are necessary to fully characterize experienced travel times. This paper explores statistical methods for clustering CDFs of travel times at segment level into an optimal number of homogeneous clusters that retain all relevant distributional information. Two clustering methods were tested, one based on classic hierarchical clustering and the other used model-based functional data clustering, to find out their performance on clustering distributions using travel time data from Interstate 64 in Virginia. Freeway segments and those within interchange areas were clustered separately. To find the proper data format as clustering input, both scaled and original travel times were considered. In addition, a non-data-driven method based on geometric features was included for comparison. The results showed that for freeway segments, clustering using travel times and the Anderson–Darling dissimilarity matrix and Ward’s linkage had the best performance. For interchange segments, model-based clustering provided the best clusters. By clustering segments into homogenous groups, the results of this study could improve the efficiency of further travel time reliability modeling.

An investigation of factors contributing towards failure or success of implemented EWB-USA water-well borehole projects

ABSTRACT This paper investigates 90 different factors contributing towards the success of Engineers Without Borders USA water-well borehole projects based on four indicators. Seventy-five per cent of the 22 well projects studied were successful according to at least three of the four success definitions. Different factors impact the success indicators in complex ways. Community engagement should be sought out, though not necessarily during implementation. An experienced travel team, surprisingly, tends to create less successful projects, but this is improved by performing periodic control checks or supplementary pre-implementation surveys.

Female mating tactics in lekking fallow deer (Dama dama): experience explains inter-individual variability more than costs

Most studies on ungulate reproduction have focused on the covariates of male reproductive success, while there is much less information on female tactics of mate choice. The aim of this work is to fill this gap and to assess condition-dependent variations in female tactics in a lekking fallow deer (Dama dama) population. In particular, we investigated three indirect selection mechanisms: i) aggregation: when females join an already formed female group; ii) copying: when females copy the mate choice of other females and iii) territory choice: when females select a territory where many copulations had previously occurred. Our results show that female fallow deer, which are less experienced (younger) and/or incur higher travel costs (home range far from the lek), adopt indirect forms of mate selection more often than older females or females residing near the lek, respectively. Compared to adults, younger females remained longer in the lek (almost three times) and in male territories, returning to the lek after copulation. However, despite the time spent at the lek, younger females were not able to select the highest-rank males, and relied on territory choice more often than older females. Farther does visited the lek less frequently (farthest females only once) and arrived on average 5 days later than closer females (which performed up to 7 visits), but they were seen more often within female groups (aggregation). We did not find a different amount of copying in younger or in farther females. Our results contribute to advance our understanding of female behaviours in ungulate leks.

Preparation of Orientation and Mobility Specialist Students Who are Blind and Have Low Vision: Survey of Faculty Who Teach Blindfold and Simulation Cane Courses

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to survey the faculty of personnel preparation programs that train orientation and mobility (O&amp;M) specialists in the identification of accommodations, teaching techniques, and resources needed to teach students who are visually impaired (i.e., those who are blind or have low vision) and who are enrolled in blindfold and simulation cane courses (hereafter, cane courses). Cane courses are used to teach the techniques of independent cane travel, and they require total visual occlusion using blindfolds as well as simulated low vision using goggles that depict different visual acuities and field losses. Methods: This study surveyed personnel preparation programs training O&amp;M specialists with an online questionnaire with open-ended items to identify the program’s required accommodations, teaching techniques, and resources needed to teach visually impaired students who are enrolled in cane courses. The survey was e-mailed to 22 universities in North America, which have personnel preparation programs for O&amp;M specialists and asked for responses from individuals who teach cane courses. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey data. Results: Results showed that the format of the cane courses was varied, a variety of accommodations and teaching strategies were used, and the universities’ office of disabled students generally did not know how to accommodate these courses. Discussion: A need exists for a student who is visually impaired to be an experienced traveler and to be knowledgeable about what accommodations and strategies he or she will use when they need to teach a fellow student during a cane course. Visually impaired students must be able to monitor the safety of their peers as well as the changing dynamics of the environment in which they are working. Implication for practitioners: To effectively teach visually impaired students who are enrolled in cane courses, university faculty teaching these courses could request prospective visually impaired students to provide documentation regarding their travel skills prior to acceptance into a personnel preparation program in O&amp;M. In addition, students with visual impairments need to discuss with their universities’ office of disabled students and legal counsel what reasonable accommodations are relevant for visually impaired students enrolled in the cane courses and what accommodations they believe the universities are committed to providing these students.

Senior Foodies:A developing niche market in gastronomic tourism

The world's population is ageing. Because of these global demographic changes it has resulted in the increased participation of older (or senior) adults in tourism and leisure activities and has prompted governments and tourism providers in many developed regions of the world to identify senior travellers as a priority market. An increasingly healthy senior market segment now has the time and purchasing power to travel more frequently, because many want to seek out and experience new and often exotic destinations in their desire to enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle. This has helped to create an emerging special interest or niche market that has been termed culinary or gastronomic tourism. The relationship between food and tourism has always been an increasingly important segment in the real worlds of hospitality, destination marketing, and tourism development. However, only recently we have seen the acceptance of the growth in interest in gastronomic tourism as an academic field of study. However at the same time, there has been little research that has been carried out on the socio-demographics of this niche market, and in particular, older gastronomic tourists. In other words, researchers have previously assumed that they all tourists experience gastronomic tourism in similar ways. As a result, little research has been found in the tourism literature, however there is some evidence to suggest that older gastronomic tourists are often very experienced travellers who have the time and money to seek out and experience foreign cultures through local food consumption that display different food preferences. On the other hand, other studies have noted diminished taste and olfactory sensitivity of older tourists, and a preference for familiar foods rather than trying out local cuisine so as to avoid any negative effects from change in diet or to control existing health problems. More research needs to be conducted to assist tourism providers and marketeers to better understand and promote the importance of the gastronomic consumption needs and expectations of the older market segment.

Adaptive Rolling Smoothing With Heterogeneous Data for Traffic State Estimation and Prediction

Spatial–temporal traffic state estimation and the prediction of urban expressways is a vital component of traffic management and information systems. The adaptive smoothing method is one of the most frequently used approaches to estimate traffic states. However, the fixed filter parameters used in existing approaches sometimes fail to characterize traffic dynamics well. To better capture generation, propagation, and mitigation dynamics of traffic congestion, we propose an adaptive rolling smoothing (ARS) approach by dynamically tuning the filter parameters in a rolling horizon scheme for online applications. The fusion of heterogeneous traffic data combines aggregate traffic measurements (e.g., traffic flow rate, time occupancy, and speed collected by remote microwave sensors) and disaggregate information (e.g., timestamps of individual vehicles detected by license plate recognition cameras). A nonlinear traffic flow filter based on the virtual trajectory algorithm is established to reconstruct the spatial–temporal traffic state and estimate experienced travel times of individual vehicles. The results demonstrate the capability and effectiveness of the proposed ARS approach in the historical traffic state estimation and short-term traffic flow prediction. Complicated traffic states of weaving, merging, and diverging segments can be well distinguished by reconstructing time-space speed diagrams. The proposed approach can be extended to develop efficient missing data imputation algorithms and hierarchical control strategies for heterogeneously congested urban expressways.

Colecionar países e territórios: uma proposta de contabilização de lugares visitados

Colecionar é uma curiosa atividade humana, que consiste na reunião e guarda de objetos selecionados. Tem inúmeros formatos e caraterísticas. A coleção de lugares, isto é, a coleção da visita a esses mesmos lugares não é uma prática recente, mas no contexto da mobilidade das sociedades contemporâneas e da sociedade em rede e de consumo, tem adquirido uma importância grande. Ainda que possa não ser a principal motivação da viagem, e que possa ser mais ou menos inconsciente, a coleção de lugares e em consequência, a contabilização das viagens, é um ato social, que à semelhança de outras coleções existe para ser partilhada, comparada e mostrada. Este artigo debruça-se sobre esta prática, que está intimamente ligada às viagens e ao turismo. Por um lado, analisa uma questão central da coleção de lugares e territórios, que é a definição da coleção, isto é, quais os seus limites, e quais os seus “objetos”. Esta discussão permite refletir sobre a forma como dividimos o mundo, nomeadamente no contexto da contabilização de viagens. Por outro lado, propõe-se aqui uma forma de contabilizar lugares ou territórios visitados que não atende unicamente ao facto de se ter estado num determinado lugar ou território, mas que inclui também outras variáveis como o tempo de permanência, as distâncias-tempo dos destinos, a perigosidade dos mesmos e a maior ou menor facilidade em entrar nesses territórios. Entrevistas a oito viajantes com grande experiência permitiram discutir e ajustar as ponderações destas mesmas variáveis, por forma a construir um índice compósito.

A longitudinal evaluation of satisfaction with e-cycling in daily commuting in the Netherlands

This paper reports on the effects of an e-cycling stimulation program on travel satisfaction in the province of North-Brabant, the Netherlands. The program was designed to stimulate car-commuters to shift to e-bike in daily commuting, earning a monetary incentive for each kilometre e-cycled. With a longitudinal design, this study shows a significant increase in travel satisfaction when switching from car to e-bike. Starting from an average slightly positive satisfaction with car commuting, participants reported an extremely positive expected travel satisfaction by e-bike. Although a bit less than expected, the experienced travel satisfaction with e-cycling was high after a period of a month and even increased in the following period of half a year. Where the participants can be sub-divided into car-only and multi-modal car-commuters, this distinction does not show in the experienced travel satisfaction with e-cycling. Our study indicates that the hedonic treadmill mechanism does not automatically apply to the satisfaction with e-cycling. Multivariate analyses suggest that the increase in the travel satisfaction is affected by self-reported health, car ownership, urbanization degree, whether car use and e-cycling are experienced as strenuous, congestion on the route and the attractiveness of the cycle route.

Operational Effects of the Displaced Partial Cloverleaf Interchange

As the roadway infrastructure in the United States evolves, transportation agencies continue to seek effective interchange alternatives that can accommodate site-specific needs, such as high through and turning volumes, or optimized traffic signal operations (by minimizing the number of traffic signal phases). In recent years, innovative interchanges such as the diverging diamond have enabled transportation agencies to explore unique designs compatible with their specific needs. This paper introduces a new innovative interchange, known as a displaced partial cloverleaf (DPC) interchange. This unique interchange is characterized by a single intersection, six free-flow movements, only four movements controlled by the solitary traffic signal, an intersection location that can be shifted, and only 12 conflict points. The flexible intersection location can help an agency improve corridor progression, eliminate conflicting queues from nearby intersections, or enhance/maintain the bridge structure without compromising the intersection operations. A microsimulation study was conducted to compare the operational performance of a DPC interchange to that of a four-quadrant type B partial cloverleaf (PARCLO B-4Q) interchange, which is very similar in layout to a DPC interchange. Results show significant decreases in experienced travel time for left-turning vehicles with the DPC. The DPC interchange is recommended as an alternative option for interchanges with very heavy left-turning onramp demand in combination with heavy crossroad demand.

An attempt to support by the Japanese society of travel and health for increasing travel clinics.

In recent years, both the number of Japanese travelers to foreign countries and foreign travelers who visit Japan have increased remarkably, and the risk of travelers suffering various infectious diseases is also increasing. In many western countries travel clinics commonly perform medical consultations, vaccinations, and issue prescriptions. However, travel clinics are not yet popular in Japan. In 2011, Japanese society of travel and health (JSTH) began a support project for travel clinic with a goal of increasing their number throughout the country. The project included the release of a manual for education, training, equipment, details of medical treatment, sources of information for travel clinic opening on the JSTH website (http://jstah.umin.jp/20TravelClinicSupport/manual_20120726.pdf), and mediation of short-term visitation to experienced travel clinics registered in the JSTH to facilitate learning above information and aftercare services. JSTH accepted requests for visitation to travel clinics from 39 medical institutions between 2011 and 2018. By 2018, 26 (66.7%) of the 39 medical institutions had opened travel clinics within two years and the 25 travel clinics had registered in the JSTH and one was a campus-limited clinic, while most of the remaining institutions are still in preparation stages. The number of travel clinics registered in the JSTH has increased from 45 in 2011 to 108 in 2018. Twenty-five travel clinics registered in the JSTH between 2011 and 2018 were eventually receiving support from JSTH. Our data indicates travel clinics in Japan have gradually increased and establishment areas are expanding after the beginning of support project for travel clinics by JSTH.