Methodological advances and theoretical gaps in tracking non-urban tourism mobility

A research article co-authored by CTR Researcher, Assoc. Prof. Kaede Sano (Faculty of Tourism, Wakayama University) has been published in the international journal in the field of tourism, “International Journal of Tourism Research”.

This article suggests that methods and techniques for tracking tourist mobility patterns in rural areas could lead to more innovative theoretical approaches that do not focus on individual tourist mobility patterns, but rather relate more closely to emerging concepts in transportation research.

 

 

Title

Methodological advances and theoretical gaps in tracking non-urban tourism mobility

 

Authors

João Romão, Yasuda Women's University, Hiroshima, Japan

Kaede Sano, Wakayama University, Wakayama, Japan

 

Source

International Journal of Tourism Research

Volume 27, Issue 1, January/February 2025

https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.70000

* Indexed in Scopus

Journal details: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/12300154722

 

Abstract

This perspective article aims at identifying topics for further research based on techniques for tracking the mobility of tourists in areas with low population density, characterized by scarcity of public transport often coexisting with sensitive natural ecosystems. Supported by a systematic scoping review, it identifies studies undertaken in four continents, even though all the articles were published during the last two decades. Marketing approaches and planning for sustainability are the main objectives identified. The works contribute for developing techniques and methodologies for data collection and analysis but the contribution for the emergence of new concepts or theories is limited. The results of this survey suggest that a shift from the focus on individual forms of mobility of tourists to a closer connection to collective forms of transport, mobility of resident populations or emergent concepts in transport studies may contribute for more innovative conceptual or theoretical approaches.

 

Keywords

Tracking, Sustainable tourism, Rural, Mobility, Transport, Big and small data