Title of Paper
Does Travel Distance Matter in Measuring Theme Park Demand and Theme Park Attractiveness?
Abstract (150 Words)
This study used visitation and travel distance to measure a tourist source market’s theme park demand and a theme park’s attractiveness. A tourist source market’s theme park demand was measured using theme park tourist visitation out and travel distance out; a theme park’s attractiveness was measured using theme park tourist visitation in and travel distance in. Data were obtained from TripAdvisor. Reviewers of each U.S. theme park were a proxy of the park’s visitors. A reverse gravity model was applied to explain the relationship between a tourist source market’s theme park demand, a theme park’s attractiveness, visitor flow, and travel distance. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) was employed to solve the reverse gravity model and estimate each tourist source market’s demand for theme parks and each theme park’s attractiveness in the U.S. The predictive power of the proposed measurement was found to be much higher than the traditional visitation-based measurement.
Does Travel Distance Matter in Measuring Theme Park Demand and Theme Park Attractiveness?
This study used visitation and travel distance to measure a tourist source market’s theme park demand and a theme park’s attractiveness. A tourist source market’s theme park demand was measured using theme park tourist visitation out and travel distance out; a theme park’s attractiveness was measured using theme park tourist visitation in and travel distance in. Data were obtained from TripAdvisor. Reviewers of each U.S. theme park were a proxy of the park’s visitors. A reverse gravity model was applied to explain the relationship between a tourist source market’s theme park demand, a theme park’s attractiveness, visitor flow, and travel distance. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) was employed to solve the reverse gravity model and estimate each tourist source market’s demand for theme parks and each theme park’s attractiveness in the U.S. The predictive power of the proposed measurement was found to be much higher than the traditional visitation-based measurement.