Social media as a tool for the analysis of tourist objects (case study of the Stavropol Kraj)

Abstract

The analysis of social media is rapidly developing in the Western recreational geography. The interest is related to statistical data, which are difficult to obtain in the studies using the classical methods. The authors' method of analyzing tourism activities with the help of photos geotagging is discussed. A database was compiled which includes 147 308 geotagged tourist photos for the territory of the Caucasian Mineral Waters and the city of Stavropol with the adjacent municipal districts. The space-time distribution of geotagged photos was analyzed at four spatial levels. The age and sex structure of the tourist flow was also determined, as well as the most visited tourist and recreation centers, areas and facilities of the study area. The seasonality of tourist flow was analyzed for the Central Park of Stavropol and the Kislovodsk National Park. It is found out that park specialization influences the number of tourist visits during the year. The tourist and recreational areas and facilities were classified and specific types of tourism destinations were identified for the Stavropol Kraj