Impact of incentives on tourist activity in space-time

Abstract

No tourism study to date, has examined the ability of incentives to shape the spatio-temporal behaviour of tourists. Data collected from the port of Palermo in Sicily (Italy), using traditional survey instruments as well as GPS technology, was employed to investigate the effect of incentives on cruise passengers' space-time activities. The results show the incentives' clear and significant impact in influencing the space-time activities of cruise passengers' while visiting the city. Understanding the movement patterns of visitors at destinations can give destination managers information that can assist in dealing with the negative effects of overtourism that are caused due to high concentrations of visitors in both space and time in relatively small and well-defined sites and areas.