Spatial and temporal tourist dispersal analysis in multiple destination travel

Abstract

There is a growing body of literature concerned with the analysis of multiple destination travel and related visitor dispersal. Important aspects of multiple destination trips include the destinations visited (spatial), length of stay (temporal), and mode of transportation along with supply and demand characteristics. Geographic information systems (GIS) offer one way of visualising the results of multiple destination trip analysis, but past attempts to use GIS applications have not incorporated the temporal element. A case study of international and domestic multiple destination trip patterns in South Australia demonstrates how the temporal element may be incorporated in a GIS application to help identify tourists' travel behavior. The application also helps identify differences between markets and may be particularly useful in monitoring change in dispersal patterns over time. © Sage Publications, Inc. 2008.