Use of Landscape Perception Methods in Tourism Studies: A Review of Photo-Based Research Approaches

Abstract

This article provides a review of photo-based landscape perception research approaches that can be used for assessment of tourists' visual landscape perceptions. The paper contributes to academic research by presenting and reviewing photo-based methods previously used in landscape perception and preference enquiries, in relation to their aptness in on-site tourism studies. The paper is concerned particularly with approaches relevant to advancing theory, allowing respondents to make their own classifications rather than relying only on constructs provided by the researchers. The focus here is on the fieldwork and its preparations, not on techniques for analysing the data collected.

Key Words:

• Landscape
• perception
• preference
• photo
• on-site
• sorting

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to thank Jaap Lengkeek, Hans Antonson, Aslak Fyhri and the anonymous reviewers of Tourism Geographies for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.