Sustainable Cultural Tourism in Urban Destinations: Does Space Matter?

Abstract

Policy makers and tourism developers must understand visitors' mobility behavior and how they consume space and tourism resources in order to set up sustainable cultural tourism destinations. With this in mind, it should also be pointed out that the mobility patterns of tourists in urban destinations are mainly located in the city center (spatial centrality), the analysis of which enables us to define "how central" the resources (museums, monuments, etc.) are and what the interactions between them are. Comprehending which factors influence visitors' urban mobility behavior is key to understanding tourists' consumption of space and their connections with the tourism assets of the city. Furthermore, when tourists visit a destination, they make a mental representation of the destination, constructing a mental map of it. Thus, tourists consume not only spaces but also the image of a city/destination. Moreover, the latter influences the former. The quality of surrounding architecture and urbanism plays a crucial role in enhancing the experiential value of a destination and influencing space consumption preferences. Clearly, visitors are more likely to use/consume environments that are easily navigated and mentally legible. In order to explore these patterns, a real experiment was performed based on visitor behavior in the city of Bilbao. In addition, the central places of Bilbao were determined and an analysis of the spatial interaction between cultural sites was performed, making use of a new methodology based on GPS technologies, network analysis, and surveys. This methodology is the main contribution of this work. The results suggest that (1) easy mobility (walkability, accessibility, different transport modes) of the visited space facilitates the tourist experience; (2) simple and eligible mental maps of the city that are easily perceived by visitors facilitate the rapid consumption of the tourist destination; and (3) the centrality of the tourism resources affects the mobility of visitors and the consumption of the destination. Thus, by understanding how tourist mobility works in a destination and analyzing tourism resources' centrality, policy makers may better tailor sustainable strategies for cultural tourism destinations.

Residents’ Attitudes towards Sustainable Tourism Development in a Historical-Cultural Village: Influence of Perceived Impacts, Sense of Place and Tourism Development Potential

“…For example, Nicholas and Tsai indicated that sense of place directly and significantly affects residents' support for local tourism development [57], Ap and Lankford found that a stronger sense of place had a negative effect on residents' tourism development support [58,59], whereas several scholars did not find a significant and direct relationship between sense of place and tourism support [7,60].…”

“…A total of 400 questionnaires were delivered, and 331 effective ones were recalled with a response rate of 82.75%, after eliminating those that were incomplete. This sample size was sufficient for performing the structural equation model (SEM) analysis [57].…”

Science Mapping of Tourist Mobility 1980–2019. Technological Advancements in the Collection of the Data for Tourist Traceability

“…Although the boom in international tourism has undoubtedly generated many benefits, this growth has also begun to cause problems-the large number of visitors attracted by the main sights of tourist destinations has begun to be a concern for the representatives of the DMO (Destination Management Organizations) [284] . The representatives of the DMO must understand not only the movement of tourists in the destination but also the use of the space and tourism resources needed in order to be more sustainable [285]. Specifically, for the study of tourist behavior and therefore, their movement in space and time, there are no formally proposed methodologies but there are several tools that allow both data capture and the analysis of them.…”

Multidisciplinary Connotations Of The Development Of Cycling In The Life Of Society

“…It's also promoted on most health channels by providing a mental and physical well-being, sustaining the multilateral functionality of the body; goes hand in hand with the environment, promoting outdoor movement and helping to reduce pollution. Cycling is also related to the cultural development of society, cycling paths in Europe facilitating cultural exchanges and highlighting historical heritage; It's an economic engine generating a distinct manufacturing sector, requiring the construction of specific infrastructures (Aranburu Plaza, & Esteban, 2016), including the track corridors that cross Europe today, also contributing to the extremely beneficial exploitation of mountain resorts (Badau & Badau, 2018), including the use of climbing means; Because of cycling there are events with the participation of significant biker communities as well as great sporting events promoted at the highest international media level. While cycling infrastructures in most European countries form a more and more laborious network, crossing the continent in all directions, in Romania their development level is particularly low.…”