A microsimulation model for e-services in cultural heritage tourism

Tourism is on a rising curve from both policy and research perspectives. This paper presents new research advances on individual tourist behaviour and motives, with particular reference to the role of e-services in cultural heritage tourism. An innovative tool adopted here is (spatial) microsimulation modelling (MSM). This method is used to offer a micro-based picture of the motives and behaviour of the total tourist and resident population concerned, including their preferences and personal characteristics. MSM is a novel but hitherto little used scientific tool in the behavioural analysis of cultural heritage tourism, mainly because of the lack of detailed and consistent (spatial) information on tourist flows and their characteristics at an urban scale. MSM is a powerful tool: one of its advantages is its ability to link existing databases and information, so as to provide new behavioural insights at the meso-level of research. To trace the motives, preferences and spatial behaviour of tourists empirically, advanced micro-based research techniques are needed. In this empirical application to tourist flows in the city of Amsterdam, the authors use factor analysis and ordered logit models as the foundation stones for the design of MSM. The empirical model is then applied to the use of e-services by tourists in Amsterdam who wish to enjoy the cultural heritage of the city.