Spatiotemporal behavior pattern differentiation and preference identification of tourists from the perspective of ecotourism destination based on the tourism digital footprint data

Abstract

Tourist impact management in ecotourism destinations requires an accurate description of tourists’ spatiotemporal behavior patterns and recreation preferences to minimize the ecological environmental impact and maximize the recreation experience. This study classified tourist behaviors into five typical behavior patterns based on the digital footprints of tourists visiting Ziwuyu of the Qinling Mountains, including 348 traveling tracks and 750 corresponding geotagged photographs: short-distance, traversing, reentrant, large loop, and small loop. Furthermore, each behavior pattern’s recreation preference was identified using photograph analysis. Tourists with large-loop and reentrant behavior patterns have 89.8% and 30% chances of visiting Jianshanding, respectively. Key protected areas are faced with the risk of ecological environmental damage. Based on the behavior pattern differentiation and preference of tourists, this paper provides a decision-making basis for the classified management and guidance of tourists in ecotourism destinations. It has reference value for the management of similar ecotourism destinations.

Spatial Differentiation of Ecotourist Perceptions Based on the Random Forest Model: The Case of the Gansu Section of the Yellow River Basin

“…Currently, scholars' research on ecotourism perception primarily focuses on the destination image of ecotourism [27,28], the influence of tourist perception on tourist loyalty in ecotourism destinations [29,30], tourists' spatial perception in ecotourism destinations [31,32], ecotourism social media initiatives [33], ecotourism development factors such as stakeholder collaboration [22,34], and ecotourism resources including distinct cultural heritage and unique natural environment [35,36]. Specifically, research on ecotourism spatial differentiation mainly centers around the spatiotemporal behavior pattern differentiation of tourists [37], spatial characteristics of cooperation among tourist attractions [38], and studies on resident perception differences [39][40][41]. Research methods employed in ecotourism perception mainly include text analysis [42], social network analysis [2,32], importance-performance analysis (IPA) [40], structural equation modeling [30,41,43,44], etc.…”