Weather Preferences for Urban Tourism: An Empirical Study in the Greek Capital of Athens, Greece
Several climate indices have been developed to analyze the relationship between climatic variables and tourist comfort at different destinations, although, none of the indices applied so far in cities have been informed by empirical data collected exclusively at urban tourist destinations. The prese...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-02-01
|
| Series: | Atmosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/2/282 |
| _version_ | 1797482786146222080 |
|---|---|
| author | Dimitrios Kapetanakis Elena Georgopoulou Sevastianos Mirasgedis Yannis Sarafidis |
| author_facet | Dimitrios Kapetanakis Elena Georgopoulou Sevastianos Mirasgedis Yannis Sarafidis |
| author_sort | Dimitrios Kapetanakis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Several climate indices have been developed to analyze the relationship between climatic variables and tourist comfort at different destinations, although, none of the indices applied so far in cities have been informed by empirical data collected exclusively at urban tourist destinations. The present paper aims to cover this gap by developing an “Urban Climate Comfort Index” (UCCI) that integrates critical climate variables for urban tourism and is informed by empirical data from an in-situ survey conducted in southern Europe, namely, in close proximity to the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece. The survey provided input on the ideal and unacceptable climatic conditions as perceived by urban tourists and on the relevant weight of the selected climatic parameters. Tourist preferences were then translated into a numerical scale by assigning utility scores of 0% and 100% to the “unacceptable” and “ideal” values while using a linear change for the intermediate values. Hence, a best-fitting utility function for each climatic variable was created, and all utility functions were then aggregated through their relative weights to form the UCCI index. The new index can be applied to other similar urban tourist destinations and assist impact assessment studies and tourism management measures, including climate change adaptation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:37:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-22a93b051ec641339de308ae51976503 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:37:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-22a93b051ec641339de308ae519765032023-11-23T18:45:13ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-02-0113228210.3390/atmos13020282Weather Preferences for Urban Tourism: An Empirical Study in the Greek Capital of Athens, GreeceDimitrios Kapetanakis0Elena Georgopoulou1Sevastianos Mirasgedis2Yannis Sarafidis3Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, I. Metaxas and Vassilis Pavlou, 15236 Penteli, GreeceInstitute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, I. Metaxas and Vassilis Pavlou, 15236 Penteli, GreeceInstitute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, I. Metaxas and Vassilis Pavlou, 15236 Penteli, GreeceInstitute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, I. Metaxas and Vassilis Pavlou, 15236 Penteli, GreeceSeveral climate indices have been developed to analyze the relationship between climatic variables and tourist comfort at different destinations, although, none of the indices applied so far in cities have been informed by empirical data collected exclusively at urban tourist destinations. The present paper aims to cover this gap by developing an “Urban Climate Comfort Index” (UCCI) that integrates critical climate variables for urban tourism and is informed by empirical data from an in-situ survey conducted in southern Europe, namely, in close proximity to the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece. The survey provided input on the ideal and unacceptable climatic conditions as perceived by urban tourists and on the relevant weight of the selected climatic parameters. Tourist preferences were then translated into a numerical scale by assigning utility scores of 0% and 100% to the “unacceptable” and “ideal” values while using a linear change for the intermediate values. Hence, a best-fitting utility function for each climatic variable was created, and all utility functions were then aggregated through their relative weights to form the UCCI index. The new index can be applied to other similar urban tourist destinations and assist impact assessment studies and tourism management measures, including climate change adaptation.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/2/282urban tourismclimateclimate changetourist comfort indicesempirical survey |
| spellingShingle | Dimitrios Kapetanakis Elena Georgopoulou Sevastianos Mirasgedis Yannis Sarafidis Weather Preferences for Urban Tourism: An Empirical Study in the Greek Capital of Athens, Greece Atmosphere urban tourism climate climate change tourist comfort indices empirical survey |
| title | Weather Preferences for Urban Tourism: An Empirical Study in the Greek Capital of Athens, Greece |
| title_full | Weather Preferences for Urban Tourism: An Empirical Study in the Greek Capital of Athens, Greece |
| title_fullStr | Weather Preferences for Urban Tourism: An Empirical Study in the Greek Capital of Athens, Greece |
| title_full_unstemmed | Weather Preferences for Urban Tourism: An Empirical Study in the Greek Capital of Athens, Greece |
| title_short | Weather Preferences for Urban Tourism: An Empirical Study in the Greek Capital of Athens, Greece |
| title_sort | weather preferences for urban tourism an empirical study in the greek capital of athens greece |
| topic | urban tourism climate climate change tourist comfort indices empirical survey |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/2/282 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dimitrioskapetanakis weatherpreferencesforurbantourismanempiricalstudyinthegreekcapitalofathensgreece AT elenageorgopoulou weatherpreferencesforurbantourismanempiricalstudyinthegreekcapitalofathensgreece AT sevastianosmirasgedis weatherpreferencesforurbantourismanempiricalstudyinthegreekcapitalofathensgreece AT yannissarafidis weatherpreferencesforurbantourismanempiricalstudyinthegreekcapitalofathensgreece |