In-Vehicle Route Guidance Preferences of Driving Tourists

The primary purpose of this study was to better understand US travelers’ route guidance information preferences for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (AT1S) for tourist automobile trips in unfamiliar areas. A secondary purpose was to better understand, more generally, information needs and preferences of tourists in order to develop guidelines for designing ATIS that is specific for driving tourists. Data on information needs and preferences were collected through a mail-back questionnaire survey of US adult residents. Among other topics, the questionnaire asked respondents about their preferences for various types of route guidance information. These data are reported here. Survey respondents gave positive ratings to all nine types of route guidance information investigated in the study, including selecting best route to destination, travel routes shown on map, road conditions, traffic congestion on route, presence of construction, weather conditions, time or distance on route, options/recommendations for alternate routes, and identification of scenic byways. Differences in preferences by sex, age, education, and income are discussed and guidelines for ATIS development, specific to route guidance, are presented.