Spatial concentration of intra-urban tourist activities and inter-group differences between Asian, European and North American travelers in Korean cities

With increasing concerns about overtourism and its associated impacts, there remains an imperative need to understand the spatial concentration of tourist activities within destinations. This study demonstrates that mobile phone data can be leveraged to accurately quantify the spatial concentration effect and potential heterogeneity among travelers with different social backgrounds. We introduce an analytical framework and demonstrate its efficacy through a case study of international travelers in three Korean cities (Seoul, Busan and Jeju). Results show that Asian travelers exhibit the highest spatial concentration, followed by European and North Americans, a finding that is consistent across all three cities and different times of the day. The Theil’s entropy index effectively portrays spatial similarity of activities among the three groups, revealing that the spatial preferences of European travelers are intermediate between those of Asians and North Americans. The findings underscore the importance of considering travelers’ social backgrounds in tourist flow management.