Abstract
Circuitous tourism helps to deepen the understanding of local cultures; however, the encouragement of circuitous movement by tourists through design is still under exploration. This study investigated the cultural area of Lukang in Taiwan through think-aloud protocols, behavioral observation, and circuitous movement planning to understand how tourists pre-plan and use the circuitous movement indicated on a site map. We then suggested a new map design that encourages circuitous movement and compared its effect on pre-planning and touring with that of the old map. This study found that in using maps for wayfinding people must rest. Site maps have always been a tool for tourists to plan their trips. When planning trips, tourists with maps relied on their past experiences; however, the existence of resting areas affected the planning of trips. Adding resting area icons effectively increased the touring periods and the number of attractions visited. Information on resting areas helped tourists independently arrange periods of repose, which aided planning and experiencing local specialties. Information on resting is thus an important factor for circuitous tours.
