Spatiotemporal distribution of urban walking tourists by season using GPS-based smartphone application

The purpose of this study is to determine urban walking tourists' spatiotemporal distribution by season. With the Bukchon Hanok Village in Seoul, South Korea, as a study site, a GPS-based smartphone application collects spatiotemporal data from 233 participants, and GIS and statistical methods are used to analyze walking tourists' spatiotemporal distribution by season. The main results of difference analysis show that the moving and staying variables of urban walking tourists differ significantly by season. In addition, spatiotemporal distributions using ArcGIS's tools show clear spatial and temporal concentrations along commercial areas and the main access road to the study site by season, while residential areas are isolated from the benefits of walking tourism. Policy-makers and planners of walking tours should use these unbalanced spatiotemporal distributions of walking tourists to define policies that would distribute tourists spatially and temporally, thereby decreasing conflicts arise between stakeholders.