CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 13Diverse Aspects of Tourism ResearchRecreation, Leisure, Wilderness ManagementEvacuation and Crowd Dynamics

Agent-Based Modelling in Visitor Management of Protected Areas

Open access
Štekerová, Kamila, Zelenka, Josef, Kořínek, Milan·2022·Sustainability
DOI 10.3390/su141912490
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

The research was motivated by the growing importance of visitor management in protected areas, which can be based on knowledge management, system modelling of processes and phenomena, and a deeper knowledge of the experience of visitors in connection with the concept of psychological carrying capacity. The work builds on previous publications and research by the authors, focused on the optimization of tourism impacts, visitor management and the development of the theory and applicability of the concept of carrying capacity. It emphasizes the overview analysis of the possibilities of using agent-based modelling and visualization of visitor flows in protected areas. The analysis of suitable sources was based on the PRISMA method, which showed the main research directions for the use of the agent-based approach in visitor management. For the practical application of modelling, the NetLogo environment was chosen, in which the visitor flows of the model area were simulated. The visitor attendance was evaluated in relation to the psychological carrying capacity. Subsequently, visitor management measures were implemented in the model, and repeated simulations of visitor attendance, based on monitored flows, were run for a specific location around Oheb Castle (the Železné hory/Iron Mountains, Bohemia). The main result is the innovative use of agent-based modelling in visitor management in the context of visitor experience, visitor satisfaction and psychological carrying capacity. The contribution of the presented research is also the proposal of future research directions for more accurate use of psychological carrying capacity in visitor management.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/su141912490

Cites

2 of 2 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Within recreation studies, ABMs have explored people's behaviour and distribution among recreational attractions, ranging from national to urban scales.

    “Within recreation studies, ABMs have explored people's behaviour and distribution among recreational attractions, ranging from national to urban scales (Štekerová et al., 2022;Tratalos et al., 2013).”

    From Towards integrated management of sandy anthropogenic shores: Developing tools for the exploration of human-natural interactions (2025) · cites this paper as Štekerová et al., 2022

    The Results section describes agent-based models of visitor movement among points of interest in a tourist area and a protected landscape area. The paper also discusses visitor behaviour and spatial distribution, but the cited passages do not establish the claimed range of recreation studies from national to urban scales. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 83

  1. Pásková, M. Tourism Environmentalism (Czech). Czech J. Tour. 2012, 1, 77-113.
  2. Pickering, C.; Rossi, S.D.; Hernando, A.; Barros, A. Current knowledge and future research directions for the monitoring and management of visitors in recreational and protected areas. J. Outdoor Recreat. Tour. 2018, 21, 10-18. [CrossRef] · DOI
  3. Pásková, M.; Zelenka, J. Social Responsibility Role in Tourism Sustainability. In Proceedings of the Hradec Economic Days, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, 2-3 February 2016; pp. 777-785.
  4. Zelenka, J.; Pásková, M. Social Responsibility in Ecotourism. In Proceedings of the Hradec Economic Days, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, 2-3 February 2016; pp. 1210-1216.
  5. Chilufya, A.; Hughes, E.; Scheyvens, R. Tourists and community development: Corporate social responsibility or tourist social responsibility? J. Sustain. Tour. 2019, 27, 1513-1529. [CrossRef] · DOI
  6. Ibarnia, E.; Garay, L.; Guevara, A. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Travel Supply Chain: A Literature Review. Sustainability 2020, 12, 10125. [CrossRef] · DOI
  7. Widawski, K.; Jary, Z. Mass tourism in protected areas-Underestimated threat? Polish National Parks case study. Open Geosci. 2019, 11, 1046-1060. [CrossRef] · DOI
  8. Zelenka, J.; Kacetl, J. The Concept of Carrying Capacity in Tourism. Amfiteatru Econ. 2014, 16, 641-654.
  9. Zelenka, J.; Kacetl, J. Visitor management in protected areas. Czech J. Tour. 2013, 2, 5-18. [CrossRef] · DOI
  10. Papageorgiou, K.; Brotherton, I. A management planning framework based on ecological, perceptual and economic carrying capacity: The case study of Vikos-Aoos National Park, Greece. J. Environ. Manag. 1999, 56, 271-284. [CrossRef] · DOI
  11. Ahn, B.; Lee, B.; Shafer, C. Operationalizing sustainability in regional tourism planning: An application of the limits of acceptable change framework. Tour. Manag. 2002, 23, 1-15. [CrossRef] · DOI
  12. Leung, Y.-F.; Spenceley, A.; Hvenegaard, G.; Buckley, R. Tourism and visitor management in protected areas: Guidelines for sustainability. In Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series No. 27; IUCN: Gland, Switzerland, 2018. [CrossRef] · DOI
  13. Slabbert, L.; du Preez, E.A. Where did all the visitor research go? A systematic review of application areas in national parks. J. Hosp. Tour. Manag. 2021, 49, 12-24. [CrossRef] · DOI
  14. Cessford, G.; Cockburn, S.; Douglas, M. Developing New Visitor Counters and their Applications for Management. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas, Vienna, Austria, 30 January-2 February 2002; pp. 14-20.
  15. Cavens, D.; Gloor, C.; Nagel, K.; Lange, E. A Framework for Integrating Visual Quality Modelling within an Agent-Based Hiking Simulation for the Swiss Alps. In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas, Rovaniemi, Finland, 16-20 June 2004; p. 417.
  16. Gimblett, R.; Sko-Petersen, H. Monitoring, Simulation and Management of Visitor Landscapes; University of Arizona Press: Tusson, AZ, USA, 2008.
  17. Johnson, P.A.; Sieber, R.E. An Individual-Based Approach to Modeling Tourism Dynamics. Tour. Anal. 2010, 15, 517-530. [CrossRef] · DOI
  18. Wolf, I.D.; Hagenloh, G.; Croft, D.B. Visitor monitoring along roads and hiking trails: How to determine usage levels in tourist sites. Tour. Manag. 2012, 33, 16-28. [CrossRef] · DOI
  19. Goossen, M. New ideas for monitoring visitors. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Monitoring and Manage- ment of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas (MMV), Tallinn, Estonia, 20-23 August 2014; pp. 121-122.
  20. McKercher, B.; Zoltan, J. Tourist Flows and Spatial Behavior. In The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Tourism;
  21. Lew, A.A., Hall, C.M., Williams, A.M., Eds.; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2014. [CrossRef] · DOI
  22. Zejda, D.; Zelenka, J. The Concept of Comprehensive Tracking Software to Support Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4104. [CrossRef] · DOI
  23. Zhang, Y.; Yang, H.; Wang, G. Monitoring and management of high-end tourism in protected areas based on 3D sensor image collection. Displays 2021, 70, 102089. [CrossRef] · DOI
  24. Sisneros-Kidd, A.M.; D'Antonio, A.; Monz, C.; Mitrovich, M. Improving understanding and management of the complex relationship between visitor motivations and spatial behaviors in parks and protected areas. J. Environ. Manag. 2021, 280, 111841. [CrossRef] · DOI
  25. O'Reilly, A.M. Tourism carrying capacity: Concept and issues. Tour. Manag. 1986, 7, 254-258. [CrossRef] · DOI
  26. Pásková, M.; Wall, G.; Zejda, D.; Zelenka, J. Tourism carrying capacity reconceptualization: Modelling and management of destinations. J. Destin. Mark. Manag. 2021, 21, 100638. [CrossRef] · DOI
  27. Frauman, E.; Banks, S. Gateway community resident perceptions of tourism development: Incorporating Importance-Performance Analysis into a Limits of Acceptable Change framework. Tour. Manag. 2011, 32, 128-140. [CrossRef] · DOI
  28. Kostopoulou, S.; Kyritsis, I. A Tourism Carrying Capacity Indicator for Protected Areas. Anatolia 2006, 17, 5-24. [CrossRef] · DOI
  29. McCool, S.F. Managing for visitor experiences in protected areas: Promising opportunities and fundamental challenges. Parks 2006, 16, 3-9.
  30. Velmurugan, S.; Thazhathethil, B.V.; George, B. A study of visitor impact management practices and visitor satisfaction at Eravikulam National Park, India. Int. J. Geoherit. Park. 2021, 9, 463-479. [CrossRef] · DOI
  31. Huang, Z.; Weng, L.; Bao, J. How do visitors respond to sustainable tourism interpretations? A further investigation into content and media format. Tour. Manag. 2022, 92, 104535. [CrossRef] · DOI
  32. Roberts, C.A.; Stallman, D.; Bieri, J.A. Modeling complex human-environment interactions: The Grand Canyon river trip simulator. Ecol. Model. 2002, 153, 181-196. [CrossRef] · DOI
  33. Lawson, S.; Kiely, A.M.; Manning, R.E. Computer Simulation as a Tool for Developing Alternatives for Managing Crowding at Wilderness Campsites on Isle Royale. In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas, Rovaniemi, Finland, 16-20 June 2004; pp. 114-119.
  34. Clius, M.; Teleucă, A.; David, O.; Moroşanu, A. Trail Accessibility as a Tool for Sustainable Management of Protected Areas: Case Study Ceahlău National Park, Romania. Procedia Environ. Sci. 2012, 14, 267-278. [CrossRef] · DOI
  35. Husáková, M. Use of the Multi-Agent Paradigm in Sustainable Tourism. Czech J. Tour. 2018, 7, 5-24. [CrossRef] · DOI
  36. Boers, B.; Cottrell, S. Sustainable Tourism Infrastructure Planning: A GIS-Supported Approach. Tour. Geogr. 2007, 9, 1-21. [CrossRef] · DOI
  37. Parolo, G.; Ferrarini, A.; Rossi, G. Optimization of tourism impacts within protected areas by means of genetic algorithms. Ecol. Model. 2009, 220, 1138-1147. [CrossRef] · DOI
  38. Li, S.; Colson, V.; Lejeune, P.; Speybroeck, N.; Vanwambeke, S.O. Agent-based modelling of the spatial pattern of leisure visitation in forests: A case study in Wallonia, south Belgium. Environ. Model. Softw. 2015, 71, 111-125. [CrossRef] · DOI
  39. Amelung, B.; Student, J.; Nicholls, S.; Lamers, M.; Baggio, R.; Boavida-Portugal, I.; Johnson, P.; de Jong, E.; Hofstede, G.J.; Pons, M.; et al. The value of agent-based modelling for assessing tourism-environment interactions in the Anthropocene. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 2016, 23, 46-53. [CrossRef] · DOI
  40. Getz, D. Capacity to absorb tourism: Concepts and implications for strategic planning. Ann. Tour. Res. 1983, 10, 239-263. [CrossRef] · DOI
  41. Salerno, F.; Viviano, G.; Manfredi, E.C.; Caroli, P.; Thakuri, S.; Tartari, G. Multiple Carrying Capacities from a man-agement- oriented perspective to operationalize sustainable tourism in protected areas. J. Environ. Manag. 2013, 128, 116-125. [CrossRef] · DOI
  42. Putri, I.A.; Ansari, F. Managing Nature-Based Tourism in Protected Karst Area Based on Tourism Carrying Capacity Analysis. J. Landsc. Ecol. 2021, 14, 46-64. [CrossRef] · DOI
  43. Chen, Y.; Chen, A.; Mu, D. Impact of walking speed on tourist carrying capacity: The case of Maiji Mountain Grottoes, China. Tour. Manag. 2021, 84, 104273. [CrossRef] · DOI
  44. Wang, H.-L. A systematic approach to natural recreational resource management. Socio-Econ. Plan. Sci. 1996, 30, 39-49. [CrossRef] · DOI
  45. Lovén, L. Customer Satisfaction as an Indicator of Social Carrying Capacity-Case Heritage Centre Ukko in Koli National Park, Finland. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas, Vienna, Austria, 30 January-2 February 2002; pp. 340-345.
  46. Sterl, P.; Wagner, S.; Arnberger, A. Social Carrying Capacity of Canoeists in Austria s Danube Floodplains National Park. In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas, Rovaniemi, Finland, 16-20 June 2004; pp. 460-466.
  47. Mokrý, S. Concept of perceptual carrying capacity and its use in the creation of promotional materials of tourist destination. Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendel. Brun. 2013, 61, 2547-2553. [CrossRef] · DOI
  48. Mihalic, T. Conceptualising overtourism: A sustainability approach. Ann. Tour. Res. 2020, 84, 103025. [CrossRef] · DOI
  49. Arnberger, A.; Haider, W.; Muhar, A. Social Carrying Capacity of an Urban Park in Vienna. In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitor Flows in Recreational and Protected Areas, Rovaniemi, Finland, 16-20 June 2004; pp. 361-368.
  50. Xiao, X.; Gao, J.; Lu, J.; Li, P.; Zhang, Y. Social carrying capacity and emotion dynamics in urban national parks during the COVID-19 pandemic. J. Outdoor Recreat. Tour. 2021, in press. [CrossRef] · DOI
  51. Weaver, D.B.; Lawton, L.J. A new visitation paradigm for protected areas. Tour. Manag. 2017, 60, 140-146. [CrossRef] · DOI
  52. D'Antonio, A.; Monz, C. The influence of visitor use levels on visitor spatial behavior in off-trail areas of dispersed recreation use. J. Environ. Manag. 2016, 170, 79-87. [CrossRef] · DOI
  53. Salesa, D.; Cerdà, A. Soil erosion on mountain trails as a consequence of recreational activities. A comprehensive review of the scientific literature. J. Environ. Manag. 2020, 271, 110990. [CrossRef] · DOI
  54. Eagleston, H.; Marion, J.L. Application of airborne LiDAR and GIS in modeling trail erosion along the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire, USA. Landsc. Urban Plan. 2020, 198, 103765. [CrossRef] · DOI
  55. Dragovich, D.; Bajpai, S. Managing Tourism and Environment-Trail Erosion, Thresholds of Potential Concern and Limits of Acceptable Change. Sustainability 2022, 14, 4291. [CrossRef] · DOI
  56. Barros, A.; Aschero, V.; Mazzolari, A.; Cavieres, L.A.; Pickering, C.M. Going off trails: How dispersed visitor use affects alpine vegetation. J. Environ. Manag. 2020, 267, 110546. [CrossRef] · DOI
  57. Fidelus-Orzechowska, J.; Gorczyca, E.; Bukowski, M.; Krzemie ń, K. Degradation of a protected mountain area by tourist traffic: Case study of the Tatra National Park, Poland. J. Mt. Sci. 2021, 18, 2503-2519. [CrossRef] · DOI
  58. Bai, N.; Nourian, P.; Xie, A.; Roders, P.A. Towards a Finer Heritage Management Evaluating the Tourism Carrying Capacity using an Agent-Based Model. In Proceedings of the 25th International Conference of the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2020, Bangkok, Thailand, 5 August 2020; pp. 305-314.
  59. Saveriades, A. Establishing the social tourism carrying capacity for the tourist resorts of the east coast of the Republic of Cyprus. Tour. Manag. 2000, 21, 147-156. [CrossRef] · DOI
  60. Cumberbatch, J.; Moses, J. Social Carrying Capacity in Beach Management in Barbados. J. Coast. Res. 2011, 61, 14-23. [CrossRef] · DOI
  61. Kwon, Y.; Kim, J.; Kim, J.; Park, C. Mitigating the Impact of Touristification on the Psychological Carrying Capacity of Residents. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2737. [CrossRef] · DOI
  62. Klanjšček, J.; Geček, S.; Marn, N.; Legović, T.; Klanjscek, T. Predicting perceived level of disturbance of visitors due to crowding in protected areas. PLoS ONE 2018, 13, e0197932. [CrossRef] · DOI
  63. Tokarchuk, O.; Barr, J.C.; Cozzio, C. How much is too much? Estimating tourism carrying capacity in urban context using sentiment analysis. Tour. Manag. 2022, 91, 104522. [CrossRef] · DOI
  64. Wang, Y.; Zhang, J.; Wang, C.; Yu, Y.; Hu, Q.; Duan, X. Assessing tourism environmental psychological carrying capacity under different environmental situations. Asia Pac. J. Tour. Res. 2020, 26, 132-146. [CrossRef] · DOI
  65. Murata, T.; Totsuka, K. Agent-Based Simulation for Avoiding the Congestions of Tourists. In Proceedings of the 2021 5th IEEE International Conference on Cybernetics (CYBCONF), Sendai, Japan, 8 June 2021; pp. 56-60. [CrossRef] · DOI
  66. JASS. Interdisciplinary Journal for the Exploration and Understanding of Social Processes by Means of Computer Simulation. Available online: https://www.jasss.org/JASSS.html (accessed on 15 September 2022).
  67. Winter Simulation Conference Archive. Available online: https://informs-sim.org/ (accessed on 15 September 2022).
  68. Crols, T.; Malleson, N. Quantifying the ambient population using hourly population footfall data and an agent-based model of daily mobility. GeoInformatica 2019, 23, 201-220. [CrossRef] [PubMed] · DOI
  69. Nicholls, S.; Amelung, B.; Student, J. Agent-Based Modeling: A Powerful Tool for Tourism Researchers. J. Travel Res. 2017, 56, 3-15. [CrossRef] · DOI
  70. Orsi, F.; Geneletti, D. Transportation as a protected area management tool: An agent-based model to assess the effect of travel mode choices on hiker movements. Comput. Environ. Urban Syst. 2016, 60, 12-22. [CrossRef] · DOI
  71. Lew, A.; McKercher, B. Modeling Tourist Movements. Ann. Tour. Res. 2006, 33, 403-423. [CrossRef] · DOI
  72. Qiu, R.; Xu, W.; Li, S. Agent-based Modeling of the Spatial Diffusion of Tourist Flow-A Case Study of Sichuan, China. J. China Tour. Res. 2016, 12, 85-107. [CrossRef] · DOI
  73. Owaidah, A.; Olaru, D.; Bennamoun, M.; Sohel, F.; Khan, N. Review of Modelling and Simulating Crowds at Mass Gathering Events: Hajj as a Case Study. J. Artif. Soc. Soc. Simul. 2019, 22, 9. [CrossRef] · DOI
  74. Batty, M. Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, Agent-Based Models, and Fractals; The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2007.
  75. Lee, J.-S.; Filatova, T.; Ligmann-Zielinska, A.; Hassani-Mahmooei, B.; Stonedahl, F.; Lorscheid, I.; Voinov, A.; Polhill, G.; Sun, Z.; Parker, D.C. The Complexities of Agent-Based Modeling Output Analysis. J. Artif. Soc. Soc. Simul. 2015, 18. [CrossRef] · DOI
  76. Grimm, V.; Berger, U.; Bastiansen, F.; Eliassen, S.; Ginot, V.; Giske, J.; Goss-Custard, J.; Grand, T.; Heinz, S.K.; Huse, G.; et al. A standard protocol for describing individual-based and agent-based models. Ecol. Model. 2006, 198, 115-126. [CrossRef] · DOI
  77. Polhill, J.G.; Parker, D.; Brown, D.; Grimm, V. Using the ODD Protocol for Describing Three Agent-Based Social Sim-ulation Models of Land-Use Change. J. Artif. Soc. Soc. Simul. 2008, 11, 3.
  78. Polhill, G.; Sutherland, L.-A.; Gotts, N.M. Using Qualitative Evidence to Enhance an Agent-Based Modelling System for Studying Land Use Change. J. Artif. Soc. Soc. Simul. 2010, 13, 10. [CrossRef] · DOI
  79. Müller, B.; Balbi, S.; Buchmann, C.M.; de Sousa, L.; Dressler, G.; Groeneveld, J.; Klassert, C.J.; Le, Q.B.; Millington, J.D.; Nolzen, H.; et al. Standardised and transparent model descriptions for agent-based models: Current status and prospects. Environ. Model. Softw. 2014, 55, 156-163. [CrossRef] · DOI
  80. Heppenstall, A.; Malleson, N.; Crooks, A. Space, the Final Frontier: How Good are Agent-Based Models at Simulating Individuals and Space in Cities? Systems 2016, 4, 9. [CrossRef] · DOI
  81. Wozniak, M.; Dziecielski, M. Should I Turn or Should I Go? Simulation of Pedestrian Behaviour in an Urban Environment. J. Simul. 2022. [CrossRef] · DOI
  82. Edmonds, B.; Adoha, L. Using agent-based simulation to inform policy-What could possibly go wrong. In Multi-Agent-Based Simulation XIX, Proceedings of the 19th International Workshop, MABS 2018, Stockholm, Sweden, 14 July 2018;
  83. Davidson, P., Verhargen, H., Eds.; Springer: Cham, Germany, 2019; pp. 1-16. [CrossRef · DOI

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Štekerová, K., Zelenka, J., & Kořínek, M.
Affiliations
University of Hradec Králové (CZ)
Corresponding author
Zelenka, Josef
ORCID
Venue
Sustainability
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2022-09-30
Volume
14
Issue
19
Pages
12490
ISSN
2071-1050 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/su141912490
OpenAlex
W4303982168
Cited by
13
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2
FWCI
2.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Sustainability (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • FIM UHK
  • Zuzana Kroulíková
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Ocean Engineering › Evacuation and Crowd Dynamics
Keywords
agent-based modeling, visitor management, protected areas, tourist flows, visitor experience, visitor satisfaction, tourism impacts, NetLogo

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review