Category: Travel inspirations

How do destinations map the way around town for incoming tourists?

I rarely pay any attention to the tourist map I get for free at almost every hostel I stayed in, upon my arrival to a new place. Up until I came across a very wrong and confusing map that didn’t get me anywhere.

I just got back from a 5-day trip in Prague, one of the most charming historic cities in Europe. As usual, I received a free map from the hostel where I stayed. Yeap, no need to buy one from the Tourist Information centre. The trick works everytime for me. Until this time.

There’s a reason the city tourist maps are there. It’s official, standardized and well-designed. The information it provides can be considered of good source and selections. However, the DMO or a city tourism bureau is not the only entity that can benefit from a good tourist map. Restaurants, hostels, boutique shops, tour operators… see the perfect opportunities to get their business across to generous-spending tourists. Consequently, they commision private cartography organizations to come up with a well-designed map, good-to-know information and most importantly their brands on the spots that can’t be missed. These maps are then distributed among partners companies including accommodation providers. In a way, it’s useful and cost-free for independent tourists and backpackers who are the most likely and frequent user of tourist maps.

Like I said, whenever I’ve been, it’s the hostels that picked the tourist map I’d be using, be it the official ones from the DMO or the privately commissioned ones. It didn’t matter because they worked like wonders. In Verona, Milan, Venice, Rome, Nuremberg, Berlin, Riga, Cambodia… But this map that was handed out to me by the hostel in Prague didn’t.

There are three main problems with this map: its accuracy, transparency and ease of usage.

• Accuracy: this is somewhat a user heuristic. You have to physically be there to realize the map was misleading.
• Transparency: symbols without names, bus stops are hard to detect
• Ease of usage: attractions can not be traced directly from the map. Tourists need to remember the number of the site in question and turn the big bulky page to find the respective information in the subsections. To a backpacker with enough bags and stuffs on her hand (many times an umbrella in rainy days of April in Prague), this is totally an enduring and hassly practice.

However, the map does have some praiseworthy elements, namely tips for shopping, dining out and basic knowledge about history, cultures, etiquette… even simple vocabulary for tourists who want to be well-prepared. In this perspective, it is effectively a bite-sized travel guide handbook.

These few thoughts aroused my curiosity about tourist maps and after doing a bit of research around the field, it came to my appreciation that tourism cartography is as much a science and an art as cartography itself. A satisfying design of a tourist map should achieve the ultimate goal of ‘‘facilitate the correct reading and understanding’ (Zipf, 2002, p. 331). To reach that goal, the cartographers should consider some major elements of map design include marks, symbols, colours, contents, legends, scale, data and illustrations (Hong & Xie, 2010; Sarikanon & Sahachaisaeree, 2010). In the sphere of tourism, it is even more crucial that the cartographers get it right, as the tourists rely heavily on maps in a strange environment. Indeed, travel is a journey into the unknown and, accordingly, reading maps is an important activity for tourists at an unfamiliar destination (Brown, 2007). Not only can tourist maps be a self-guide for tourists to choose potential attractions and plan routes (Medynska-Gulij, 2003), they are also valuable marketing materials, as they ‘promote the identity of an area, as well as potentially increasing the local economic activity’ (Pritchard, 2008, p. 3). In brief, the tourist map, with satisfying design and contents, can be of dual benefits to both the tourists and the destination.

Making a good tourist map is anything but an easy job. Grant and Keller (1999) note that studies on design of travel maps should focus on factors including the following: scale, appropriateness of cartographic symbolism and text, effectiveness of graphic language, layout, inclusion of insets and photographs, depiction of transport and tourism infrastructure, illustration of parks and recreational areas. Among these, symbols and signs can be crucial to the readability of tourist maps. However, ironically, legends of maps used in the real world could be inefficient in ensuring ease and accuracy in relation to map reading (Clarke, 1989). Regarding the map contents, cartographers should pay attention to the level of details and the relevant information (depending on types of travelers and purpose of travel). For example, too much details can overwhelm tourists at first glance, which can be destructive to the primary purpose of facilitating tourists’ navigation while a tourist coming by car may not benefit from a map designed for backpackers who walk and use public transport. In its essence, tourism cartography is convincingly a hard job, which makes little surprise why not so many destinations have the willingness and resource to strike a successful cartographical product for tourism. Nevertheless, this should not discourage them from doing so, given the vitality of the tourist map to travel experience and the marketing of the destination.

In a case study of visitors satisfaction of Macao’s tourist maps, it is revealed that utility of map (understandable map signs, sufficient information on tourist sites, enough landmarks for wayfinding, covering all street names of interest, sufficient traffic information) wins over design elements such as color scheme, illustrations and scale (Yan & Lee, 2015).  Similarly, Medynska Gulij’s study highlights two key functions of tourist maps, that is, facilitating choosing potential attractions and planning routes (2003). As long as the map is convenient for tourist use and is effective in helping them obtain information to choose tourist sites and plan routes, its mission is accomplished.

As far as Prague city map is concerned, although it has succeeded in providing insightful information about landmarks, history and culture, it has not yet provided the most basic information about tourist sites and street of interests nor presented them in an accurate and user-friendly way. My humble reccommendations are that:

1. Its level of accuracy should be scrutinized and improved.
2. Bus stops signs should be more informative and transparent.
3. Rather than replacing landmark names with numbers and explaning them on the side, the map should lay out famous tourist sites by name on the map itself.

 

Reference list

Brown, B. (2007). Working the problems of tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 34(2), 364–383.

Clarke, L. M. (1989) An experimental investigation of the communicative efficiency of point symbols on tourist maps. The Cartographic Journal, 26(2), 105–110.

Grant, L. A., & Keller, C. P. (1999). Content and design of Canadian provincial travel maps. Cartographica: The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization, 36(1), 51–62.

Hong, Y., & Xie, X. (2010). The analysis of vision representation of the title and the character of illustrated map-sampled by sightseeing maps of villages and towns. Proceedings of 2010 International Conference on Design Theory and Practice, Taichung, Taiwan. (pp. 157–164).

Medynska-Gulij, B. (2003) The effect of cartographic content on tourist map users. Cartography, 32(2), 49–54.

Pritchard, K. (2008). Incorporating user opinion into a new wine tourism map for Southwest Virginia (Unpublished master’s thesis). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Sarikanon, C. and Sahachaisaeree, N. (2010). Graphical design features responding to tourist mapping need: A case of Bangkok’s maps for foreign tourists. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 1226–1231.

Yan, L. and Lee, M. Y. (2014) Are tourists satisfied with the map at hand? Current issues in tourism, 18(11), 1048-1058.

Zipf, A. (2002). User-adaptive maps for location-based services (LBS) for tourism. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference for Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism, ENTER, Innsbruck, Austria. (pp. 329–338).

I went to Cambridge on a moody day in the middle of March 2017. The sky was cloudy and rain was in the forecast. I boarded a couch with my two gale friends and apparently we were the only U30 folks, amidst respectable grey-haired grandpas and grandmas. Although it was only a day excursion, I wasn’t feeling up to it since the tickets were booked before I saw myself up to my neck with uni work. Well, we boarded the ‘old’ bus and I made myself excited about what laid ahead.

‘Why Cambridge?’ you may ask and already have the answer. My earliest image about England was its old prestigious universities where the bachelors strolled in their gowns and hoods, holding piles of musty books, ruminating in studious library where the only sound was the crispy page turning. And yes, it was in this ambience where the light was dim, sunshines flow through the window glass upon which formulas were rashily scribbled, ingenious ideas came to enlight the knowledge of mankind. I would picture myself submerged in that sphere of knowledge, squinting in awe. A little taste of that would satisfy my ‘great expectation’.

The first thing that struck me upon arrival was that we were not the only excursioners that day. Flocks of Chinese tourists filled the streets. Literally, I mean. Yes, their postures and photo-taking obstruct cars and pedestrians. It must be like this everyday, since that day was mid-week – not an expected peak time. I felt a sheer empathy for the locals, who must have been bored to death with the sight of foreigners ‘taking visual ownership’ of their city. I would be deeply bothered if I were them. Since Chinese tourists stuck in groups, their presence became overwhelming and distressing, for locals and other visitors alike. The university village was supposed to be innocent and pure from the boisterous crowd. Its prestige rightfully laid in the unstirring serenity which was supposed to be reserved and respected, if you asked me. ‘Why can they just split up and roam the village in a civilized way? Why put on these photo show every bloody five minutes on every bloody street corner they turn?’ I grumbled to myself then. ‘You folks have comprehensively ruined my day.’

And what follows in the law of demand and supply? You must have seen this coming. The over-marketing of punting tours on river Cam focusing on Chinese holiday-makers. The stereotypes and assumptions about Chinese visiting behaviour were so formidable that my friends and I were constantly targeted since we traveled in groups and I looked Chinese-like. To an extent, this is understandable in view of the aforementioned over-representation of Chinese tourists. However, being approached and mistaken as a result definitely marred my experience, and I bet other Asian or group travelers would be deeply irritated. If the essence of Cambridge is serenity, ease and nostalgia, where one can expect a little privacy, a moment of silence, a getting-lost stroll along hidden closes, this intrusive commercial and advertising activity is sadly counterproductive.

Well, after doing a bit of research, it turned out I wasn’t the only troubled one. And while the tourists can whine it off and leave it all behind after departure, the community has a much more enduring experience. In fact, frustrated residents were complaining of traffic problems and overcrowded pavements, as over 140,000 people visit Cambridge city center on a Saturday, July 16 last year (Kitching, 2016). It has been claimed that a tourist disaster is awaiting in the near future if measures are not put in place to manage increasing visitor numbers.

Renowed for its historic sites, understandably Cambridge has long been adored by international tourists and increasingly, by the Chinese. The emerging Chinese middle class has been making their Grand tour around Europe, checking off their list established spots like Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Venice’s Grand Canal. While other European destinations have adapted to accommodate the needs and interests of Chinese to capture their spending power, the UK is no perception. In fact, Chinese vistors to the UK has increased by 50 per cent in the last year, revealed by research done by Visit Britain (Hall, 2011) and there doesn’t seem to be a cease to this wave.

Thus, sympathy could be spared to councillor John Hipkin of Cambridge when he expressed his concern: “This is only the beginning as to what we can expect. The Chinese have decided Cambridge is an essential part of their Europe experience” (Snead, 2016).

Surprisingly, for these Chinese tourists, it was not “the city’s grand 15th-century chapel, meticulously manicured lawns or historical statues” (Cox, 2016) that first drove them to Cambridge, but rather a white granite stone on which poetry lines of Xu Zhimo – the famous poet were carved. After all, the ultimate goal is to pay homage to the well-known poet. In addition to this, other key motivators include ‘enjoy the beauty of the landscape’, ‘feel connected to nature’ and ‘have fun and laughter’, according to Visit Britain’s last year market survey.

While Cambridge is bound to receive enormous tourism receipts from the Chinese’s spending, its capacity and original attractivity may not be sustained. The situation mirrors what has happened in Barcelona, Venice and other destinations worldwide under the impacts of mass tourism. Architectural degradation, pollution, culture commodification…, to name a few, are the catastrophies afoot if the number of tourists are not capped. In light of this, fed-up locals are urging Cambridge’s DMO (Destination  Management Organization) to come up with measures to control the inflow of tourists. When asked by Cambridge News, The CEO, Emma Thornton put the problem down to intensive day tourism which triggers an immense concentration of people at one space at specific peak hours. She said the DMO was taking steps to make visitors spend longer time, driving them to other interests or aspects of the city to consequently divert visitor flows to the rural area of Cambridge.

How to change tourist perception of Cambridge as a day trip destination, Mrs. Thornton did not specify, and to be honest, I haven’t figured out for myself. The village is small and the colleges comprise of its main attractions. Without historical and architectural heritage, rural areas in Cambridge may have to design its non-physical heritage such as cultural activities, food festivals or folklore storytelling. However, this has to be done with great prudence since tampering with culture legacies can easily turn into commodifying them. Another quick fix can be to cap the number of day-trippers but the city could risk losing out on tourism revenues and the policy may give Cambridge a bad reputation in visitors’ eyes.

Well well, there seems a lot of challenges ahead but I hope in the end Cambridge can preserve its charmful essence that brings enthusiasts there in the first place.

 Reference

BBC News (2013) Cambridge: Chinese tourists pay homage to poet. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24895442 [accessed 01 April 2017].

BBC News (2013) Chinese visitors seek out poet’s farewell to Cambridge. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-24902748 [accessed 01 April 2017].

Cox, D. (2016) Poetry or property punts: what’s driving China’s love affair with Cambridge? The Guardian, 22 March. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/22/china-cambridge-university-poet-xu-zhimo-farewell-property [accessed 01 April 2017].

Hall, J. (2011) Chinese tourist boom swells visitor numbers to UK. The Telegraph, 15 September. Available from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8765760/Chinese-tourist-boom-swells-visitor-numbers-to-UK.html [accessed 01 April 2017].

Kitching, C. (2016) Cambridge is ‘heading for a tourist disaster’: Locals fed up with traffic jams and clogged pavements complain there are too many holidaymakers. Mail Online, 26 July. Available from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3709105/Cambridge-heading-tourist-disaster-says-local-councillor.html [accessed 01 April 2017].

Snead, F. (2016) Fears Cambridge could be heading for ‘tourist disaster’ as thousands flock to city centre. Cambridge News, 16 December. Available from http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/fears-cambridge-could-heading-tourist-12044889 [accessed 01 April 2017].

The Economist (2010) The Chinese are coming. Available from http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2010/12/chinese_tourism_britain [accessed 01 April 2017].

Visit Britain (2015) China. Available from https://www.visitbritain.org/markets/china [accessed 01 April 2017].