Tourist Mobility and Advanced Tracking Technologies

The remarkable developments in tracking technologies over the past decade have opened up a wealth of possibilities in terms of research into tourist spatial behaviour. To date, most research in the field has been based on data derived from less objective–hence methodologically problematic–sources. This book examines the various technologies available to track pedestrians and motorized vehicles as well as the moral, ethical and legal issues arising from the utilization of data thus obtained. The methodologies outlined in the book could prove revolutionary in terms of tourism research, management and planning.

1. Introduction Section 1: Theoretical and Methodological Issues of Tourists’ Spatial Behavior 2. Theoretical Aspects of Tourists’ Spatial Behavior 3. Methodological Aspects of Measurement and Visualization of Tourists’ Spatial Behavior Section 2: Available Tracking Technologies 4. Land-based Tracking Technologies 5. Satellite-based Tracking Technologies Section 3: Application of Tracking Technologies to Research on Tourist Mobility 6. Methodological Challenges 7. Understanding the Tourist 8. Understanding the Destination 9. Ethical Questions and the Tracking of Tourists Section 4: Concluding Thoughts 10. Conclusion. Appendix: Integrating Data Obtained from Tracking Devices into Geographic Information Systems

Noam Shoval is a Lecturer intheDepartment of Geography at Hebrew University. Michal Isaacson is a PhD candidate in theDepartment of Geography at Hebrew University.