Selecting the best route in a theme park through multi-objective programming

Abstract

The theme park industry has grown intensely in recent times and offer every day a greater number of attractions and activities to visit. The problem is that, when a tourist visits a theme park, he has a short space of time and he wants to maximize the usefulness of the visit, such as enjoying as many attractions as possible. Visitors face a serious selection problem – they must identify the best alternatives so as to optimally utilize their time and visit to the attractions that most interest them, besides keeping a check on the money spent during the visit. It would be very useful if they had a tool to help them take an optimum decision from among the different alternatives, considering their goals, restrictions and preferences. Therefore, we are going to develop a tool that, through a multi-objective model, helps theme park visitors who want to obtain an ideal route, helping them choose among the various alternatives: what activities to pursue, in what order, at what time, etc. The system can be used from home through a web page or application, or when present in the park, which also allows the tourist to incorporate the suggestions that arise in the park on the fly. This tool could improve the satisfaction of tourists visiting the park as it offers the maximum utility with regard to the activities undertaken within the timeframe available to them, thus also rendering added value to the theme park. One of the challenges facing theme parks management is the management of visitor flow, characterized by the dual objective of ensuring the highest quality experience for the tourists and reducing the risks arising from congestion of the different areas and/or most visited attractions, and we consider that this tool can help them to do it.

摘要：

近年来, 主题公园产业蓬勃发展, 每天都有更多的景点和活动可供参观。问题是, 当一个游客参观一个主题公园时, 他有很短的时间, 他想最大化这次访问的效用, 比如尽可能多地欣赏旅游景点。游客们面临着严重的选择问题——他们必须找到最佳的选择, 以便最佳地利用他们的时间, 去参观他们最感兴趣的景点, 同时还要确保参观期间的花费不超支。考虑到他们的目标、限制和偏好, 如果他们有一个工具帮助他们从不同的选择中获得最佳决策, 那将是非常有用的。因此,我们通过多目标模型要开发一个工具,帮助主题公园游客获得理想的路线,帮助他们从不同的游览方案中选择一个理想的获得路线: 在什么时刻以什么顺序游览什么活动,等。该系统通过一个web页面或应用程序在家里就可以使用, 或者当出现在公园时,还可以允许旅游者采用即时生成的游览建议。这个工具可以提高游客参观公园的满意度, 因为它给游客提供了在时间框架内开展活动的最大效用, 从而为主题公园提升了价值。主题公园管理面临的挑战之一是游客流的管理, 该项管理具有双重目标, 既确保为旅游者提供最佳的游览体验, 又减少因不同区域和/或最常访问的景点游客拥堵产生的风险, 我们认为这个工具对此可以有所帮助。

Keywords:

• Tourist routes
• multi-objective programming
• tourist assistance system
• information and communications technology
• theme parks
• decision making

关键词:

• 旅游路线
• 多目标规划
• 旅游辅助系统
• 信息和通信技术
• 主题公园;决策

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beatriz Rodríguez-Díaz

Beatriz RodrÕguez DÕaz is Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Economics (Mathematics) at the University of MÄlaga, Spain. His research interests include applications of multiobjective techniques in several fields such as tourism.

Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández

Juan Ignacio Pulido-FernÄndez is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Head of the Laboratory of Analysis and Innovation in Tourism (LAInnTUR) at the University of JaÅn in Spain. His main research interests focus on tourism economics, destination management, sustainability of tourism, tourism impacts, and social network analysis.