Title of Paper

Effects of touristic elements in photographs on potential visitors’ evaluations of a volcano

Author Information

Ryota Nakamata, Tokyo Metropolitan UniversityFollow
Taketo Naoi, Tokyo Metropolitan UniversityFollow
Shoji Iijima, University of the RyukyusFollow

Author Bios (50 Words for each Author)

Mr. Nakamata is a graduate and a MSc candidate of Tokyo Metropolitan University. His has educational backgrounds in tourism and civil engineering. His research interest relates mainly to experimental investigation of visitors’ evaluations of environments. He is also interested in the processing of big data regarding visitors’ behaviors and experiences.

Dr. Naoi is an associate professor of Tokyo Metropolitan University. He obtained his doctor’s degrees from the University of Surrey and Tokyo institute of Technology. His researches relate mainly to. He has studied visitors’ evaluations of destinations, adopting theories and methods of environmental psychology, consumer behavior, and destination image

Prof. Shoji Iijima is a professor of University of the Ryukyus, Japan. He obtained his doctor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Okayama University. He has analyzed townscape environments, applying theories and methods employed in studies of light and visual environments, and has investigated visitors’ evaluations of tourism destination environments.

Abstract (150 Words)

To promote nature-based destinations with crustal activity, it is crucial to capture scenic images of these to communicate their inherent attractiveness to potential visitors while minimizing perceived risk. This study aims to investigate how the presence of a visitor and a human-made touristic structure in photographs affects potential visitors’ evaluations of a volcano and to offer avenues to leverage the inherent nature of creative, smart, and sustainable destinations. Sixty-one students rated 24 slide photographs featuring a volcano with and without a visitor, a human-made structure, and a volcanic plume, on scales regarding the touristic sense, activity, grandness, transcendence, and security. The results implied the risk-cushioning effects of the presence of the visitor and the human-made structure. As the structure enhanced the sense of transcendence and grandness, its inclusion may be effective in communicating the destination’s attractiveness.