Understanding seasonal and diurnal variations of inter-city tourism destination network

ABSTRACT This study characterizes a destination network based on travel flow. Although the tourism literature has mostly discussed the static configurations of network structures, this study presents a dynamic destination network considering four seasons and daily periods. Given the advancement of connected technology, mobile sensor big data collected from international travelers visiting Korea were analyzed to explore movement behaviors across 250 cities in the country. Results demonstrate the dynamics of complex network systems in tourism destinations over time, such as seasons and diurnal variations. Its findings are crucial for developing vibrant destination management and contextual marketing.