Tourist Flows Research Articles

The impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector in Italy: A regional spatial perspective

The recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis affected all economic sectors, but tourism was hit the hardest. However, the resilience of tourism has also been recognized. In this context, the aim of the paper is (i) to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on tourism flows in Italy, by looking at NUTS-3 level data on national and international tourism arrivals and (ii) to understand whether, and to what extent, some “alternative” destinations benefited during the pandemic. Spatial autocorrelation analysis (global and local) and spatial regression models are used to capture the determinants of the variation in tourism flows in 2020 and 2021. Results demonstrate that tourism demand has different patterns across Italian provinces after COVID-19; both types of tourism have a significant path of spatial dependence that was stronger in 2020; international tourism has a more evident North/South divide and, the short-term resilience depends on the characteristics of the destination.

Political tides and tourist waves: Mainland China’s policy impact on Taiwan’s tourism

This study assesses the impact of Mainland China’s open-door and closed-door tourism policies on tourist arrivals in Taiwan using the regression control method. The period from 2001 to 2019 highlights that political dynamics significantly influence tourism flows. The enactment of the open-door policy (2008–2015) coincided with a marked increase of Mainland Chinese tourists in Taiwan, averaging an annual rise of 2.19 million. In contrast, the closed-door policy (2016–2019) saw a drastic average annual reduction of 2.53 million visitors. These stark contrasts confirm the potent effect of political policies on tourism. The research underscores the potential of tourism as a diplomatic bridge, suggesting strategic importance for policymakers and industry leaders in navigating the intersection of politics and tourism.

Spatial model of international tourism and tourists' original motives

Properties of geographical space essentially important for international tourism, such as length and discreteness, are analyzed. Apperception of geographical space in usual environment and its effect on tourist’s original motives are described. Original motives for tourism, in particular, those of escaping, comfort, contrast and aesthetics are substantiated. Finally, upon consideration of spatial specificities of land surface and tourist-driving original motives, a conceptual model of formation and distribution of international tourism flows in geographical space is developed. The ontological-anthropologic substantiation of tarrying in usual environment and original motives for tourism has also been presented. The latter grounded on M. Heidegger’s philosophy and was an attempt to understand how Human Being exists as tourist.

A study on the spatial differences between the tourism network attention and tourism flow in Shanghai, China

The tourism network attention as a reflection of tourism demand is closely related to the tourism flow, the differences between the two has become an important criterion for judging the efficiency of destination tourism demand conversion, as well as a manifestation of the balance and coordination of destination tourism industry. Against the background of insufficient release of tourism demand in China, research on the development differences between tourism network attention and tourism flow can provide a basis for demand-side management and high-quality development. Based on the theory of spatial mismatch, this research analyzes the spatial development difference between the tourism network attention and the tourism flow in Shanghai from 2012 to 2021 using methods such as center of gravity model, spatial mismatch index, and two-dimensional combination matrix. The results show: (1) According to the analysis of the center of gravity model, there was a shift of the center of gravity of tourism network attention with the direction of "south-north", while the tourism flow shifted "west-east"; the center of gravity between tourism network attention and tourism flow began to diverge from 2012 to 2016, gradually converged from 2016 to 2019, and then gradually deviated again after 2020. (2) According to the spatial mismatch index, the spatial mismatch types between tourism network attention and tourism flow in various Districts of Shanghai are mainly negative and low mismatch, with high mismatch areas mainly distributed in the eastern and southwestern parts of Shanghai. (3) Combining the two-dimensional combination matrix, it can be observed that the spatial development difference between tourism network attention and tourism flow in Shanghai show a characteristic of "enlarging-shrinking-enlarging". From 2012 to 2016, the spatial development difference between tourism network attention and tourism flow in Shanghai continuously expanded; from 2017 to 2019, the spatial development difference continuously shrank; and from 2020 to 2021, the spatial differences expanded again. (4) The analysis results of the panel data model show that the development of tourism resources and the level of tourism services have a positive promoting effect on the evolution of spatial mismatch, while the social basic development environment has a negative effect. The research results not only meet the needs of evaluating the high-quality development of the tourism industry in the current economic restructuring, providing direction for the high-quality development of the regional tourism industry, but also enrich the research content of network attention as a tourism element participating in the evaluation of tourism industry development quality, and deepen the relationship research between network attention and tourism flow.

Data-Driven Geofencing Design for Point-of-Interest Notifiers Utilizing Genetic Algorithm

This study proposes a method for generating geofences driven by GPS trajectory data to realize scalable point-of-interest (POI) notifiers, encouraging walking tourists to discover new local spots. The case study revealed that manual geofence settings degrade the location relevance and user coverage—key objectives of POI notifiers—and hinder the scalability and reliability of services. The formalization presented computationally equips geofence designers with practical solutions through two implementations based on prior GPS trajectory logs: (1) a multiobjective genetic algorithm that suggests cost-effective geofences by providing trade-off visualizations and (2) a user coverage-penalized genetic algorithm that determines an optimal geofence based on the designers’ expectations. The feasibility and stability of the proposed implementations were tested in areas with varying tourist flow patterns. A comparative survey among manual settings, settings incorporating a reliability simulation, and data-driven settings demonstrates significant performance improvements for geofence services.

Tourist flows and protection of cultural heritage in Andalusia (Spain): An econometric analysis with panel data

This article analyzes the influence of heritage labeling on tourist flows in Andalusia (Spain). Some of the labels considered correspond to public registries whose purpose is the protection of heritage, while others correspond to specific recognitions aimed at promoting tourism and local development. A data panel of 31 tourist destinations covering the entire territory of Andalusia has been constructed for the period 2009-2022, incorporating the tourist flows of travelers as response variables and the density of the different typologies of cultural heritage elements as explanatory variables and different control variables. Different models with temporal and transversal effects have been estimated, aimed at evaluating the contribution of different typologies of cultural heritage on traveler flows. The results show that cultural heritage has a significant effect on tourist flows in Andalusia, but with a different distribution depending on the type of flow and the typology of the tourist destination.

Роль цифровизации в развитии экономико-туристического пространства региона: опыт Мурманской области

Introduction. The Murmansk region is the pearl of Arctic tourism, and its tourist and recreational potential is considered in the work. Theoretical analysis. During the theoretical analysis, it was found that a tourist multiplier operates in the economy of the Murmansk region, contributing to the development of the regional tourism industry. At the same time, the acceleration effect in the industry is observed due to the introduction of digital technologies. Empirical analysis. The analysis of the tourism industry economic indicators the Murmansk region gave mixed results. However, the dynamics of many indicators is positive, although it cannot be unequivocally stated that the tourism industry is the flagship industry of the region. At the same time, there is an active application of digitalization achievements in the region, although insufficient. Regional tourist industry facilities use virtual excursions as promotion tools. However, other digitalization mechanisms will also contribute to the popularization of the Murmansk region. In particular, they include conducting excursions through live broadcasts for people with disabilities, producing games with the landscapes of the Kola Peninsula, creating an application with a built-in navigation function along a pre-laid route, and, in the future, building personal routes by amateur tourists independently using this application. Results. Proposals for the introduction of digital technologies into the activities of accommodation facilities, the use of games with locations in the region, and the increase in excursion streams can lead to an acceleration of the cartoon effect in the Murmansk region and increase the tourist flow to the region.

Forest Vegetation Characteristics of the Garhwal Himalaya

General aspects of vegetation of the Shiwalik ranges and the Garhwal Himalaya between the altitudes : 400-4,200 m together with detailed floristic accounts of the typical forests, are provided. Main types of forests surveyed include moist sal bearing forests, tropical fresh-water swamp forests, tropical dry deciduous forests, Himalayan montane subtropical forests, Himalayan moist temperate forests, sub-alpine forests and alpine forests. Various forest types are illustrated by field photographs. It is noted that there is a general decline in the forest cover and forest degradation is on the increase because of population pressure for more cultivable land and increased tourist flow in the region. Serious efforts at natiopal level are needed to conserve the fast dwindling forest cover.

Remembering for resilience: nature-based tourism, COVID-19, and green transitions

The COVID-19 pandemic had transformative effects on the tourism sector at an unparalleled scale. With the rapid onset of unprecedented travel restrictions, tourists were abruptly confined to experiences in their regional surroundings that led to new and refreshed relationships with local destinations. This paper draws on qualitative interviews with small tourism businesses in two distinct but proximate nature-based destinations in Ontario, Canada and considers how they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings are positioned within Holling's Adaptive Cycle to consider implications for ongoing resiliency planning for disturbances relating to climate change. Over a 2-year period (2020–2022), SMEs revealed that after an initially turbulent period they quickly adapted to the absence of international long-haul visitors by embracing a surge in domestic demand for nature-based, outdoor experiences. The paper contributes to the literature on tourism SMEs by connecting experiences of COVID-19 to resiliency planning for future predictable disturbances. Two critical lessons for enhancing destination resiliency are identified: engagement of regional tourism demand, and destination level leadership, through investment in infrastructure and partnerships, can both be harnessed to support SMEs and their communities in transitioning toward a more sustainable, resilient and climate-friendly tourism future. Given the growing demand for tourism businesses to transition away from environmentally harmful practices and a longstanding dependency on economic growth, these resources can help destinations enhance preparedness for future changes to tourism flows driven by decarbonization scenarios and increased climatic impacts.

A study on the influence of perceived distance on China's inbound Tourism and the interaction of non-economic distance: An analysis of dynamic extended gravity model based on 61 countries' entry data (2004-2018).

In the post-epidemic era, the restart of China's inbound tourism is imminent. However, there are gaps in our current understanding of how distance perception dynamically affects inbound tourism in China. In order to understand the past patterns of inbound tourism in China, we mapped the data of 61 countries of origin from 2004 to 2018 into a dynamic expanding gravity model to understand the effects of cultural distance, institutional distance, geographical distance, and economic distance on inbound tourism in China and revealed the dynamic interaction mechanism of non-economic distance perception on inbound tourism in China. Our research results show that cultural distance has a positive impact on China's inbound tourism, while institutional distance has a negative impact. The significant finding is that the dynamic interaction of the above two kinds of perceived distance can still have a positive impact on China's inbound tourism. Its practical significance is that it can counteract the influence of institutional distance by strengthening the cultural distance. Generally speaking, geographical distance and institutional distance restrict China's inbound tourism flow, while cultural distance, economic distance, and interactive perceptual distance promote China's inbound tourism flow.

Factors of forming tourist flows in modern development of tourism in the Russian Federation

The article presents the factors of modern development of tourism in Russia. Statistics on the development of the Russian tourism indicate that the direction, dynamics and intensity of tourist flows have changed quite significantly from 2010 to 2022. According to certain development parameters of the domestic tourism industry, there are both considerable achievements and unresolved issues. The formulation of public policy on resolution of the latter should be implemented on the basis of current factors. Sustainable development of the Russian tourism sector is possible by ensuring an integrated approach that includes improvement of the quality of tourism services based on the principles of sustainable tourism alongside with increase of investment attractiveness of tourism infrastructure and increase of investments in tourism digital products. The expected promising directions for the development of the industry are substantiated: the priority of health and safety, ecotourism, decrease in the number of spontaneous trips, development of niche tourism areas, digitalisation of the industry, virtualisation and simulation (imitation of tourism activities). Attention is focused on important factors of tourism development: potential growth points for the tourism industry are identified as well as the expected types of tourism that will attract demand from tourists.

Optimizing tourist flows through operative carrying capacity assessment: The case of Bakkhali coastal tourism, W.B., India

<p>Carrying capacity assessment of nature-based tourist destinations is important for keeping the consumption of natural resources and anthropogenic pollution levels within environmentally safe and sustainable limits. With the mostly rural character of such destinations, the local community's well-being also needs to be prioritized. Exposure to natural hazards and climate crises have further exacerbated concerns about the long-term sustainability of these locations. The interrelationship between tourism intensity and its impacts clearly reflects Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle model of 1980. The ‘elements of capacity’ and their ‘critical range’ mark a significant threshold in the model that leads us to the concept of carrying capacity. The capacity may be physical, spatial, ecological, environmental, social, economic, management, and governance, among others. This is also linked with the quality of the touristic experience and satisfaction. In this context, aiming to understand the optimum level of tourist traffic flow in Bakkhali, one of the popular beach destinations of the deltaic island system of the Indian Sundarbans, this study assesses its visitor carrying capacity at three levels—physical, real, and effective. It also briefly introduces the idea of ‘operative’ carrying capacity at the fourth level. The study is based on tourist data until 2019 and adopts the well-established methodological framework of carrying capacity assessment applied widely in several settings. The result suggests that tourism operations at Bakkhali may optimally handle 2040 visitors per day, which may be stretched to a maximum of 2267 visitors per day. This may be used as baseline information for sustainable coastal tourism policy framing in the long term while planning for tourism management and infrastructure development in the Sundarban region in immediate terms.</p>

ВЫБОР МОДЕЛИ РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКОГО ТУРИЗМА В РЕГИОНЕ ДЛЯ УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ СЕЛЬСКИХ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ

At the present stage of development of the services market, tourism is becoming one of the most developing areas of activity, which requires constant improvement of quality, diversity of tourism offer and modernization of tourism infrastructure. In the context of scientific and technological progress, tourism, as an area that affects many different industries, serves as an important factor in the economic and socio-cultural development of rural areas. Russia occupies a minor position in the global tourism market. Despite the great tourism potential, its competitive advantage lies in the unique objects of architecture, culture, history and natural heritage, as well as in the national flavor of the country. Rural tourism can become one of the most important areas of economic development, which will contribute to the social, spiritual and economic development of Russian regions and the country as a whole. There is a necessity and need to bring domestic tourism services in line with modern world trends, to increase the competitiveness of Russian travel companies in the tourism services market. The Russian Federation has significant territorial potential and enormous opportunities for the development of large-scale tourism activities. According to the Strategy for the Development of Tourism in the Country until 2035, the main goal is the comprehensive development of the key competitive advantages of tourism in the Russian Federation, due to the presence of many points of attraction for domestic and inbound tourist flows. Due to the presence of a larger number of monuments of cultural, historical and natural heritage in Russia, there are prospects for the development of almost any type of tourism. In this situation, agricultural tourism is of particular importance as one of the most important factors in the sustainable development of rural areas and the agricultural sector.

The effect of visa types on international tourism

Visa policies are among the most important administrative formalities influencing international tourism flows. This study estimates a structural gravity model for tourism demand to quantify the effect of different types of visas. Furthermore, the effect of the monetary cost of the visa and changes in visa policies are evaluated. Thus, two novel databases on visa requirements are used. Our empirical analysis considers worldwide tourism movements, including domestic flows, from 194 origin countries to 163 destinations from 2016 to 2021. The results indicate that imposing visa requirements decreases international tourism movements, especially in developed countries, although the effect depends on the type of visa. Moreover, we find a low elasticity for the monetary cost of the visa.

Time Series Analysis and Neural Network Optimization of Tourist Destination Heat Prediction Model

Accurate prediction of tourist destination heat is significant for effectively managing tourist flow in the tourism industry. However, forecasting the temperature of a tourist destination is challenging, and various factors, like weather conditions, influence it. In this study, we proposed a novel hybrid strategy using time series analysis and neural network optimization to predict tourist destination heat accurately. The study commences with collecting historical tourist visitation data, weather records, and other information. Then, the raw database was preprocessed to make the data effective and reliable for subsequent analysis. Further, the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) technique was employed as a time series analysis technique, capturing and identifying the database's underlying patterns and correlations. Consequently, a Fire Hawk Optimizer-based Dense Recurrent Neural Network (FHO-DRNN) was developed and trained using the ARIMA outcomes to predict the tourist destination heat. The proposed framework was implemented in the MATLAB software, and the results are examined in terms of accuracy, Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and computational time. Furthermore, we compared the existing predictive models to validate the proposed model's effectiveness in forecasting tourist destination heat.

Climate impacts and adaptation strategies for coastal erosion, aquaculture, and tourism along the Adriatic side of Apulia region

This study addresses the imperative need for adaptation strategies to climate impacts in coastal areas, particularly vulnerable to climate change effects. Under the Interreg project “AdriaClim,” our research aims to provide a comprehensive account of predicted climate impacts and corresponding adaptation measures for three key sectors for the coastal economy of the Puglia region (Southern Italy): coastal erosion, aquaculture, and tourism. Analyzing regional climate projections, predicted climatic anomalies for Apulia have been delineated. Together with a comprehensive description of the investigated sectors, the expected sectoral climate impacts have been identified. The respective adaptation measures for each sector have been evaluated in terms of coherence with the studied context and effectiveness, among those proposed in the literature. In aquaculture, climate change may influence ecosystem structure, functionality, production cycles, infrastructure, and organism physiology. Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) emerges as a solution to enhance the resilience of Apulian aquatic production systems to climate change. For coastal tourism, the vulnerability to various climate impacts is emphasized. These impacts can directly influence tourist flows or indirectly alter the attractiveness of the Apulian Adriatic coast. Given the sector's strong ties to anthropic, natural, and cultural elements, a comprehensive adaptive approach proves most effective. Concerning coastal erosion, results underscore the prevalence of numerous stretches of eroding low coastline, with future projections indicating scenarios of widespread retreat along the southern Adriatic coast. Consequently, protective, and coastal management measures become imperative. The analyses and the obtained results serves as a valuable knowledge framework essential for formulating a climate change adaptation plan for the Apulian Adriatic coast, aligning with the regional authorities' orientations.

Spatial evolution pattern of tourism flow in China: case study of the May Day Holiday based on Baidu migration data

ABSTRACT Tourism flows are an elementary part of mobility and an important topic in tourism research. Utilising Baidu migration data, we model tourism flows during China’s May Day holiday from 2019 to 2023. Employing hotspot analysis and the differential index for tourism flow methods, we scrutinise the spatial and temporal dynamics of tourism flows in China before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are as follows: (1) Regarding temporal variations, the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted China’s tourism industry, albeit with a slow recovery currently underway. (2) Spatially, tourism flows primarily concentrated within four major city clusters, with emerging tourism destinations like Zibo gradually gaining prominence. (3) Analysing changes in tourism flow during holidays reveals that cities can be categorised into four major types and six minor types, with a predominant trend of continuous decrease in tourism flow. These findings shed light on the intricate dynamics of tourism flows in China, offering valuable insights for stakeholders in the tourism sector.

Impact of psychic distance stimuli on international tourist flows: A cross-country analysis

Research on psychic distance in tourism studies has mainly focused on perceived psychic distance, while little attention has been paid to psychic distance stimuli. Applying the Cultural-Administrative-Geographic-Economic (CAGE) distance framework, this study employs a gravity model framework to investigate the relationship between psychic distance stimuli and international tourist flows and the moderating role of Internet popularity in such a relationship based on information asymmetry theory. Further, this study investigates the effects of psychic distance stimuli along the cultural, administrative, geographic, and economic dimensions. The empirical analysis is based on a panel dataset of bilateral tourist flows between 56 countries from 2006 to 2019. The results indicate that psychic distance stimuli negatively impact international tourist flows, but the negative effect decreases with increasing Internet penetration rate in countries of origin. The four distance dimensions exert negative effects on bilateral tourist flows. This study also provides implications for alleviating the impact of psychic distance stimuli between countries derived by COVID-19 on international tourism in the post-pandemic era.

The uneven impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic tourist flows: what does mobile phone data tell us?

COVID-19大流行对国内游客流动的不均衡影响：移动电话数据告诉我们什么？研究目的COVID-19大流行对全球旅游业产生了重大影响，国际旅行受到了限制的影响最为严重。国内旅游也面临着重大挑战。本文分析了COVID-19大流行对西班牙国内旅游的影响，重点关注从马德里（该国首都）到其他旅游目的地的旅行。研究方法本研究使用移动电话数据研究了2019年、2020年和2021年夏季旅游出行的演变。采用回归模型解释了各目的地游客数量。研究发现大流行不仅导致了旅游流量急剧下降，还扰乱了国内流动系统的总体模式。获胜的目的地通常是马德里附近的地区和人口较稀少的目的地，而城市目的地是主要的输家。国内游客的偏好在收入群体之间有明显差异，但旅行量的减少只显示出边际差异。研究创新本文展示了使用移动电话数据分析研究外部冲击（如COVID-19大流行）对旅游目的地的不均匀影响的潜力。该方法考虑了区域或省份内的空间弹性异质性。通过整合收入信息，该分析为高度详细的空间数据引入了社会维度，超越了传统在区域或国家水平进行的研究。

Research on the Spatial Network Structure of Tourist Flows in Hangzhou Based on BERT-BiLSTM-CRF

Tourist flows, crucial information within online travelogues, reveal the interactive relationships between different tourist destinations and serve as the nerve center and link of the tourism system. This study takes Hangzhou, China, as a case to investigate the spatial network structure of its tourist flows. Firstly, a BERT-BiLSTM-CRF model and pan-attraction database are built to extract tourist attractions from online travelogues and create the tourist flow matrix. Then, this study uses social network analysis (SNA) to examine the structure of the tourist flow network from a county-level perspective. Additionally, GIS spatial analysis methods are applied to analyze the evolution of the tourist gravity center and standard deviation ellipse (SDE) of the network. The results reveal that the identification performances of the tourist flow extraction model this study proposed are significantly better than those of previous mainstream models, with an F1 value of 0.8752. Furthermore, the tourist flow network in Hangzhou displays a relatively sparse and unbalanced distribution, forming a “Core–Semi-Periphery–Periphery” structure. Lastly, from 2020 to 2022, the network’s gravity center experienced a shift towards the southwest, paralleled by an initial expansion and subsequent contraction of the SDE in the same southwest direction. These findings provide valuable insights into the spatial network structure of tourism in Hangzhou and can serve as a reference for policymakers to promote the “all-for-one” tourism.