Traveler Information and Tourism: Assessment of Traveler Information and 511 Impacts Upon Tourist Destinations and National Parks

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Traveler Information and Tourism: Assessment of Traveler Information and 511 Impacts Upon Tourist Destinations and National Parks

C. A. Zimmerman / M. Burt

The study focused on traveler information systems in tourism areas and the impacts of those traveler information efforts. Case studies were conducted on four sites: Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine; Branson, Missouri; the I-81 Corridor in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia; and Salt Lake City, Utah. These sites were selected based on a number of criteria, including the significance of tourism in the local economy; availability of a traveler information system with real-time information; maturity of the system; availability of data from previous studies of the system; presence of a 511 telephone system; rural or urban setting; and presence of a National Park. Although the four sites vary dramatically in terms of the approach taken to tourists and information available to them, a number of cross-cutting findings emerged from the study. Integration of traveler and tourism information is in its early stages, and the visibility and awareness of such systems is low. Impact of the systems is generally limited, but evidence exists that the information when properly presented is valued by tourists and the tourism community and can have a significant impact. The study also found the differences between the transportation and tourism professions need to be bridged to make these systems most effective. The report offers several recommendations to aid current and future traveler information system operators and their partners. Examples include targeting tourists in marketing and promotion efforts and orienting user interfaces to tourists; better coordination between transportation and tourism stakeholders; and sensitivity to presentation of traffic congestion information to minimize adverse impacts on tourist businesses.