A Method Using Inverse Shortest Paths Problem to Estimate Stopover Tourist Destinations Based on Heterogeneity

A study focusing on travel cost derived from location data in Yamagata Prefecture

Abstract

Since the preferences differ greatly in tourist behavior, it is required to postulate heterogeneity. We develop a method to estimate the utility of tourist destination, which means the threshold of travel cost such that no stopover is generated, by means of the inverse shortest path problem (ISP). The proposed models assuming homogeneity and heterogeneity estimate the utility common to all travelers and the utility of each traveler, respectively. With the use of excursion behavior extracted from location data, we elucidate the popular and niche sightseeing destinations in Yamagata Prefecture. Our methodology is novel in that ISP estimates the value of the facilities visited during excursion from the perspective of the travel cost method. It contributes to the tourism promotion based on the preferences of each traveler.