Design and implementation of an intelligent recommendation system for tourist attractions: The integration of EBM model, Bayesian network and Google Maps

Selecting tourist attractions and collecting related site information is one of the most crucial activities for a tourist when making decisions for a trip. Although various recommendation systems have been discussed over the last decade, rarely do such systems take individual tourist preference information into consideration. Based on the Engel-Blackwell-Miniard (EBM) model, this study used data published by the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan to develop a decision support system for tourist attractions. The probability of a tourist attraction appealing to a particular tourist is calculated utilizing a Bayesian network, and the accuracy of the prediction is validated by a ROC curve test. Finally, recommended routes and tourist attractions are presented through an interactive user interface using Google Maps. This study confirms that by combining the EBM model with a Bayesian network to propose a decision support system called the Intelligent Tourist Attractions System (ITAS). It has demonstrated good prediction of tourism attractions and provides useful map information to tourists. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.