Persistent homology in tourism: Unlocking the possibilities

Abstract

Marketing a destination is costly so efficiency of promotion expenditure is critical; identifying improved techniques to achieve this will be of great value. Clustering techniques have sought to identify target markets but are widely criticised for the biases they induce. Persistent Homology identifies key tourist groupings with similar behaviours without the prejudice of the functional forms inherent in most regression models. It further produces more focused, and therefore easily promoted to, markets. Consequently Persistent Homology can highlight obtainable promotion opportunities that otherwise would be missed. This paper provides an example of its application to identify the highest, and lowest, spenders amongst tourists visiting the United Kingdom. We further provide an intuitive theoretical background highlighting the inherent value of the methodology for tourism research. Potential for impact in applications to other aspects of tourism practice is also great as we signpost therein.