Toward utilizing mobile phone users’ location data in tourism

Abstract

This study aims to identify the number of visitors in different periods and their characteristics based on the location data of mobile phone users collected by the mobile phone company. The sites studied in this survey are tourist destinations in Ishikawa Prefecture and Toyama city, including Kanazawa city, which became nationally popular after the Hokuriku Shinkansen opened in 2015. The opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen brought more visitors to many areas. However, it also led to fewer visitors in some other areas. Its positive effect was remarkable in Kanazawa.