A Framework of Tourist Attraction Research

1. A Framework of Tourist Attraction Research Chapter 25 Research Methodologies

2. A Comprehensive Framework • Research on tourist attractions has been undertaken from one or more of the three broad perspectives: • The ideographic definition and description of attraction types • The organization and development of attractions • The cognitive perception and experience of tourist attractions by different groups

3. The Ideographic Perspective • Attraction typology that focuses on the concrete uniqueness of as site • Every attraction has a tangible, material presence, and the understanding and appreciation of this presence what the ideographic approach represents

4. The Organizational Perspective • Focuses on the spatial • Scale, which are based on the size of the area which the attraction encompasses • capacity • temporal nature (seasonal or year round) • In this approach, attraction typologies are developed to reflect these qualities

5. The Cognitive Perspective • Studies of tourist perceptions and experiences of attractions • The degree to which the tourist are willing and able to take the leap into authenticity

6. Cross Perspective Measures • Two ways of combining ideographic, organizational, and cognitive perspectives have been identified as follows: • The combining of complementary categories from different perspectives, and research measures which are common to all three perspectives • Other measures: • Historical • Locational • Valuational

7. Conclusion • An examination of research methods used in a study of tourist attractions and the tourist attractiveness of the place reveals that most studies can be classified into one or more of three general perspective as discussed previously • An understanding of alternative methods to tourist attraction study will help ensure that the data collected will match the intended objective of the research