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Abstract
The role of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology in retail market area analysis and site selection is well established. Though approaches range from simple rings to complex multivariate models of customer loyalty patterns, they share the common understanding that market areas for retailers are relatively compact geographically. This assumption is much less appropriate for retail operations in tourist destinations, where stores rely heavily on visitors to the area who spend most of the year far removed from the retailer's location. Though location is still an important factor for such retailers, market area analysis based on geographic proximity is not as useful. However, GIS tools can still play a major role in market analysis for tourism‐dependent retailers. This study uses Pocono Mountain Treasures, a hypothetical retailer in Pennsylvania, to describe how a GIS application, Environmental Systems Research Institute's (ESRI) ArcGIS 9.2 system, can be used to help tourist‐dependent retailers serve existing customers more effectively and to target prospective new customers more precisely.