Measuring tourist activities in cities using geotagged photography

A strong correlation exists between the number of geotagged tourist photographs and registered bed nights, offering a novel method to quantify tourist activities with high spatial precision. This approach leverages large datasets from image hosting platforms like Flickr.com, combining the accuracy of GPS tracking with the scalability of community-generated data. The study analyzed 16 European cities, with deeper comparisons conducted on Vienna, Prague, and Budapest—three historic tourist destinations with similar markets but distinct morphological constraints. Findings reveal both shared spatial patterns and key differences in tourist behavior, rooted in urban structure and local activity levels.

Kádár, B. (2014). Measuring tourist activities in cities using geotagged photography. Tourism Geographies, 16(1), 88–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2013.868029