Although tourists’ multi-attraction visitation behavior in tourism flow networks appears random, it actually follows underlying association rules. These rules may exhibit regional variations due to the influence of administrative barriers. Revealing the attraction association rules connected through tourist behavior can provide theoretical support for regional tourism planning and resource allocation. This study proposes a novel analytical framework to uncover hidden patterns and driving factors in tourists’ seemingly random behaviors across inter- and intra-township scales, with empirical evidence from the Pilot Zone of the Yangtze River Delta Green and Integrated Ecological Development Demonstration Area. Results show that the tourism flow network in the study area exhibits a distinct hierarchical structure. Nodes with high centrality are predominantly high-profile scenic spots that serve dual roles as both “cores” and “hubs” in the network. Most statistically significant association rules were observed at the intra-town level. In contrast, inter-town rules (exclusively among towns within Qingpu District, Shanghai) accounted for only a small proportion, where high-A-level tourist attractions frequently served as key nodes that enhanced cross-regional visitation probability. The determinants of tourist flow association rule intensity exhibit both commonalities and heterogeneities between intra-town and inter-town scales.
Huang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.