Recommendation Method for Attractive Destinations for Individual Tourists Using Profile Data

Abstract

Personalized tours have become popular worldwide. However, it is not easy to recommend destinations that are appropriate for individual tourists. This study examines a highly accurate recommendation method using two indexes: an objective index that judges the adaptability between a tourist’s profile and a destination; and a subjective index that judges attractiveness for the tourist. We tested the method using data from tourism websites and a questionnaire survey. We found that the method was effective in identifying adaptive and attractive tourist groups for well-known destinations in Iwate Prefecture, Japan.