Photography-based analysis of tourists’ temporal–spatial behaviour in the Old Town of Lijiang

A novel photography-based approach reveals key temporal and spatial patterns of tourist behavior in the UNESCO-listed Old Town of Lijiang, offering new insights for sustainable tourism management. Analyzing 1308 publicly shared photos, researchers estimated tourists' daily visit frequencies, movement traces, and hotspots, demonstrating the potential of photo-sharing data to track visitor distribution with high accuracy. This method provides a non-intrusive alternative to traditional surveys, enabling more precise planning of resources and conservation efforts in historically significant areas.

Li, C., Zhao, Y., Sun, X., Su, X., Zheng, S., Dong, R., & Shi, L. (2011). Photography-based analysis of tourists’ temporal–spatial behaviour in the Old Town of Lijiang. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 18(6), 523–529. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2011.601471