Putting the Periphery on the Map: Tourism Activity measured with Big Data

Abstract

This paper addresses the sustainability and redistribution challenges in global tourism, emphasizing peripheral tourism as a solution. Utilizing big data from a major travel portal, the study covers ten European peripheral regions from 2016 to 2022. Our approach, validated against international tourism statistics, maps tourist origins and activity levels, comparing peripheral regions with less remote areas. The findings highlight specific patterns of tourist flows, regional disparities in tourism development, and opportunities for promoting sustainable tourism in underdeveloped regions. The findings reveal specific patterns of tourism dynamics in peripheral regions, contributing to a deeper understanding of how tourism develops in these areas and how it differs from more central destinations.

Keywords: Tourism, Periphery, Cultural heritage, Big data

JEL Classification: L83, O1, Z11, Z3