The traces of ecotourism in a digital world: spatial and trend analysis of geotagged photographs on social media and Google search data for sustainable development

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to track how ecotourism has been presented in a digital world over time using geotagged photographs and internet search data. Ecotourism photographs and Google Trends search data are used to evaluate tourist perceptions of ecotourism by developing a categorization of essential attributes, examining the relation of ecotourism and sustainable development, and measuring the popularity of the ecotourism sites.

Design/methodology/approach

The researchers collected geotagged photographs from Flickr.com and downloaded Google search data from Google Trends. An integrative approach of content, trend and spatial analysis was applied to develop ecotourism categories and investigate tourist perceptions of ecotourism. First, the authors investigate ecotourism geotagged photographs on a social media to comprehend tourist perceptions of ecotourism by developing a categorization of key ecotourism attributes and measuring the popularity of the ecotourism sites. Second, they examined how ecotourism has been related with sustainable development using internet search data and investigate the trends in search data. Third, spatial analysis using GIS maps was used to visualize the spatial-temporal changes of photographs and tourist views throughout the world.

Findings

This study identified three primary themes of ecotourism perceptions and 13 categories of ecotourism attributes. Interest over time about ecotourism was mostly presented as its definitions in Google Trends. The result indicates that tracked ecotourism locations and tourist footprints are not congruent with the popular regions of ecotourism Google search.

Originality/value

This research follows the changing trends in ecotourism over a decade using geotagged photographs and internet search data. The evaluation of the global ecotourism trend provides important insights for global sustainable tourism development and actual tourist perception. Analyzing the trend of ecotourism is a strategic approach to assess the achievement of UN sustainable development goals. Factual perspectives and insights into how tourists are likely to seek and perceive natural attractions are valuable for a range of audiences, such as tourism industries and governments.

摘要

研究目的本论文旨在探索生态旅游业在电子世界中是如何随着时间而显示出来的，文章样本为带有地理标记的图片和互联网搜索数据。本文使用生态旅游图片和谷歌趋势搜索数据来评估游客对生态旅游的感知，通过对关键要素的分类，审视生态旅游和可持续发展的关系，以及衡量生态旅游基地的受欢迎程度等方法。

研究设计/方法/途径

本论文作者从Flickr.com上搜集地理标记图片以及从谷歌趋势上下载谷歌搜索数据。样本分析通过内容、趋势、空间上的综合分析，来开发生态旅游类别和游客对生态旅游的感知。首先，我们研究了社交媒体上的生态旅游地理标记图片以理解游客对生态旅游的感知情况，以此搭建了关键生态旅游要素的类别体系，和衡量生态旅游基地的受欢迎程度。第二，我们通过使用互联网搜索数据，检测了生态旅游如何与可持续发展相连接，以及研究了搜索数据中的趋势。第三，我们使用了GIS软件来操作空间分析，对图片的空间-时间改变和游客对世界的观点做了可视化处理。

研究结果

本论文确立了三项生态旅游感知的基本主题以及13项生态旅游要素类别。生态旅游互联网随着时间演化，根据谷歌趋势上的定义，被大致地展现出来。本论文研究结果表示生态旅游地理位置和游客足迹与生态旅游谷歌搜索的热门区域不全是完全吻合的。

研究原创性/价值

本论文使用地理标记图片和互联网搜索数据将生态旅游发展趋势近十年的变化描画出来。全球生态旅游趋势的评估对全球可持续旅游发展和实际游客感知方面做出重要见解启示。生态旅游趋势的分析作为一种战略方法，对UN可持续发展目标的时间起到评估作用。本论文针对游客的真实感知和意见，游客如何选择和感知自然景观，这对于很多群体，比如旅游行业和政府，都有着重要意义。

Citation

Go, H., Kang, M. and Nam, Y. (2020), "The traces of ecotourism in a digital world: spatial and trend analysis of geotagged photographs on social media and Google search data for sustainable development", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 183-202. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-07-2019-0101