Quantifying nature-based tourism in protected areas in developing countries by using social big data

Abstract

© 2018 The Authors Spatial visitation patterns and its features on nature-based tourism are difficult to assess using only a field-based survey, which is costly and labor intensive. However, understanding of a protected area's visitation status is critical, as it can strongly influence the sustainability of natural resources. Hence, it is important to identify ‘where people visit’ and ‘why people visit,’ to evaluate the features attractive to tourists. In this regard, we proposed and applied social big data to investigate nature-based tourism in an ASEAN Heritage Park. Overall, our research was able to effectively illustrate spatial patterns of visitation using 10 years of Flickr geo-tagged photographs. Hotspots of high visitation were identified, while revealing the local spatial impact of distributed attributes. This study offers insights into the applicability of social big data to protected-area management and its potential in reinforcing existing field-based participatory approaches.

Source or Periodical Title

Tourism Management

ISSN

2615177

Page

249-256

Document Type

Article

Subject

ASEAN heritage park, Cultural ecosystem service, Nature-based tourism, Protected area, Social big data, Spatial visitation pattern

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