Jinwon Kim

National Tourism Policy and Spatial Patterns of Domestic Tourism in South Korea

The implementation of national tourism policy is manifested in the development of destinations and in patterns of tourism activity. Based on Brenner’s notions of spatial rescaling and spatial selectivity, this study assesses the changing distribution of domestic tourism in South Korea between 1989 and 2011, and relates these changes to the national tourism policies put in place during those years. Spatial statistical techniques including Moran’s global I statistic and local indicators of spatial association are employed. Findings suggest that while domestic tourism activity became less concentrated at the macro level during the study period, at a finer scale it is clear that this deconcentration is nevertheless occurring in a clustered manner. Thus, while the traditional emphasis on Seoul and the southeast appears to have declined, the distribution of tourism’s benefits is still uneven. Observations with regards to future tourism policy and concomitant spatial patterns of development and activity are provided.

Developing a Reinforced Heritagescape using GIScience : A Case Study of Gyeongju, South Korea

Abstract Heritage tourism has emerged as a popular type of tourist activity as the landscape of heritage sites has been recognized as a major tourist attraction. Heritage sites contain complex social spaces created by the interactions and perceptions of the tourists who visit heritage sites and the residents of these sites. Therefore, an analysis of heritage sites is essential in order to understand the sense of place of heritages that can be used as major attractions in heritage tourism. However, despite the importance of heritage sites for tourism development, there has been a lack of theoretical framework to consider the wide range and unique characteristics of heritage sites. In addition, our understanding of heritage sites seems to be exploratory and experimental. As a solution, Garden suggested a theoretical framework, called heritagescape, to consider heritage sites with three guiding principles: (1) boundary, (2) cohesion, and (3) visibility. Although Garden’s heritagescape made an opportunity to analyze heritage sites using a theoretical framework the framework is still exploratory and experimental as it did not propose a specific analyzing process for the three guiding principles of heritagescapes. The purpose of this study is to develop the reinforced heritagescape as a more-advanced framework to specify Garden’s heritagescape with a case study of Gyeongju, one of the most popular heritage sites in South Korea. Geographic Information System or Science (GIS), Google-earth and the process of observation, speculation, analysis and evaluation (OSAE) tools are employed to address the reinforced heritagescape, considering human cognitions. This study demonstrates one such application, namely an analysis of heritage site with GIScience. In addition, the results can give a planner or individual, such as a tourist, more helpful guidelines for decision making.

Influence of the measurement of distance on assessment of recreation access

Abstract Residents’ recreation behavior is highly influenced by their level of access to recreation opportunities. Distance is an important component of access. The purpose of this study was to measure levels of access to public beaches in the Detroit Metropolitan Area (DMA) using four travel distances (1, 6, 10, and 20 miles) and three access measures (minimum distance, travel cost, and covering), with the intent of demonstrating the sensitivity of findings to both the distance and measure employed. Findings indicate that while public beaches are geographically accessible for a majority of the DMA population within 20 miles according to all access measures, at distances less than 20 miles level of access varies substantially with the access measure used. Future access studies should consider a range of travel distances rather than the single distance typical of most prior analyses and should also be sensitive to the differentials produced by the access measure employed.

Access for all? Beach access and equity in the Detroit metropolitan area

Beaches are a unique type of recreation setting, offering a variety of water- and land-based opportunities that can meet residents’ diverse and complex recreation needs. Providing and improving equitable access to recreation amenities such as beaches have been recognized as essential responsibilities of public leisure agencies. This study assessed the degree of equity inherent in the distribution of public beaches in the Detroit metropolitan area; to account for spatial effects, phenomena rarely considered in prior equity analyses, geographically weighted regression was employed. Considerable local variations in the relationships between level of access to public beaches and population density, proportion of elderly population and educational attainment were identified. Such findings can help parks and recreation agencies better understand local patterns of equity, an important first step in facilitating the formulation of more efficient and effective planning and policy approaches.

Community reactions to tourism development: how does governmental fairness work?

Based on the elements of social exchange and organizational justice theories, a conceptual model and associated hypotheses were formulated to examine the relationship among community residents and their perceptions of governmental fairness (i.e., distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational dimensions), social capital (i.e., cognitive and structural dimensions), and support for government and environmental development. Data were collected from 496 residents in four Korean cities: Busan, Gyeongju, Pohang, and Ulsan. Empirical testing resulted in support for multiple hypotheses. More specifically, cognitive social capital was significantly influenced by distributive, interpersonal, and informational fairness. Structural social capital was significantly affected by distributive and informational fairness. Subsequently, two dimensions of social capital positively influenced two types of support. Overall, the results suggest that the interplay of governmental fairness and social capital is important in influencing residents’ support for government and environmental development.

The Sharing Economy: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach to Examine Crime and the Shared Lodging Sector:

The sharing economy has gained great market share within the lodging sector by offering cost-effective accommodation solutions. However, it is also troubled by increasing criminal incidents. This study examined the global relationship between the density of Airbnb and crimes in Florida, explored how the relationships vary at the county level. The results suggested that crime-lodging associations vary by listing types but not crime types. Only the Shared Room type consistently exhibited positive associations with both property and violent crimes, while Private Room and Entire Home exhibited negative associations. Local variations were identified by geographically weighted regression, which could be explained by the local tourism development and ethnic diversity degree. We suggested equal efforts in preventing both property and violent crimes in home sharing business. Also regional differences need to be considered when responding to shared lodging crimes.

The spatial clustering patterns of the U.S hotels during 1985–2017

ABSTRACT ‘Location, location, location’ are treated as three sacred words in the lodging industry because location plays a significant role in the industry’s success. However, little attention has been paid to understanding hotel locations in regional contexts. The purpose of this study was to investigate spatial clustering patterns of hotels over time in relation to hotel locations and regions in the U.S. The Smith Travel Research (STR) Hotel Census Data from 1985 to 2017 were used for the study, and a series of statistical analyses was carried out to examine the relationships among the identified patterns. The results indicated that hotel locations and development were concentrated in specific geographical regions during the study periods. The implications of the study are discussed.