Time and Space in Event Behaviour: Tracking Visitors by GPS

Research on tourist mobility in combination with the tourists' experiences has been rare to date. Previous studies focusing on the activities of tourists in time and space have most often used the method of time-space diaries. However, an important flaw in this method is that these recordings depend on the respondents' personal observations and notes. This disadvantage is avoided by using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) devices, which record their carriers' movements directly, thus replacing personal notes. This new method was used to study the time-space movements of visitors during the Biathlon World Championships 2008 in Ostersund, Sweden. In addition to the GPS devices, questionnaires were used to study the tourists' movements and experiences. In trying to combine methods to support the event analysis, the aim of the study is to evaluate the practicability of GPS devices during an outdoor sports event. Movements and experiences in time and space are studied. In order to answer questions regarding the visitors' movements on a macro-level, these methods were combined with bird's-eye view photographs taken of the race arena every minute. The overall results of this study thereby contribute to our understanding of time-space movements. The questionnaires offer comprehensive background information about the participants and their experiences, although some modifications will have to be made in future studies. The information provided by the photographs substantially complements the itineraries collected by means of GPS.