March 14, 2024
SIU researchers mine social media for data on eclipse tourism
CARBONDALE, Ill. — A total solar eclipse is an opportunity to witness one of nature’s greatest wonders, but for researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, it’s also a chance to study tourism in a small community for which little data exists. There is also.
Roopoo Lee, associate professor of geography and environmental resources in the School of Earth Systems and Sustainability, is using a small grant from the SIU Foundation to study the last total sun that hit the southern Illinois region in 2017. I researched the problems associated with eating. The research focused on: Mine social media data to discover patterns.
Lee and his students plan to conduct a similar study on this year’s April 8 solar eclipse, which is a rare event in which the same phenomenon occurs twice in the same area in such a short period of time. We hope that this will lead to interesting comparisons in areas such as migration patterns.
Lee said there is often less detailed data on tourist behavior and visitation patterns in rural areas and small towns, and events like a total solar eclipse can provide a valuable opportunity to study that. .
“We will see a significant increase in tourism to the region, giving us a unique opportunity to consider how people move around and how we can improve services for them,” Mr Lee said. . “Social media is a great way to get data for this kind of research for free.”
Mr. Lee collaborated with Geography and Environmental Resources master’s student Joseph Karincz and used a $5,000 SIU Foundation Research Award to support the Academic Research Access Program (2017) offered by Company X. (formerly known as Twitter). This program allows academic researchers to obtain historical data for free.
The researchers used programming and spatial analysis software such as Python and ArcGIS to analyze data such as postings, spatial and temporal patterns, and participation in local eclipse-related activities. It also revealed where the tourists came from, the places they stopped during their trips and visits to Carbondale, and the messages they shared about their experiences on the platform.
how they felt about it
Lee used more than 500 geotagged tweets from visitors within the geographic study area for his analysis, noting that the number of such messages was small until the day immediately before the eclipse. Tweets peaked on the day of the eclipse, but rapidly declined after the event.
“This pattern suggests that most tourists visited the region within a narrow three-day window around the event,” Lee said. “On most days, the highest number of tweets were seen in the evening, suggesting active evening gatherings among these audiences.”
Of the 503 tweets analyzed, the majority expressed positive or neutral sentiment about the experience. Approximately 9% of tweets expressed very positive sentiments, including tourists tweeting photos with messages such as: This photo was taken a few minutes before dark at Blue Sky Vineyards. ”
The researchers classified an additional 90% of tweets as neutral or moderately positive, but only two tweets conveyed negative sentiment, such as comments about high heat and humidity and traffic issues during an event in August 2017. was.
where they were looking
The researchers also spatially analyzed where platform users were during the event and identified seven “clusters” of eclipse observers: Blue Sky Vineyard, Walker’s Bluff Vineyard , the Rainmaker Art Studio in downtown Carbondale, the SIU campus, Herrin in downtown Makanda and the Village of Goreville.
“These locations include the Moonstock Music Festival held at Walker’s Bluff, a spectator event held at Saluki Stadium on the SIU campus, and a similar event at Blue Sky Vineyards. It was often related to food events,” Lee said. Restaurants in Marion and University Mall in Carbondale were also frequented by tourists.
where did they come from
After analyzing the platform’s profiles, researchers found that the majority of southern Illinois eclipse tourists traveled from the Chicago area. There were also large numbers of participants from Nashville (Tennessee) and St. Louis, indicating that future advertising campaigns should focus on major cities to attract tourists.
Although none of the analyzes were able to identify users, researchers were able to gain detailed insights into users’ arrival and departure times, accommodation choices, dining and shopping habits, and overall experience. It’s done. Such data could help strengthen the region’s tourism infrastructure and maximize economic benefits for the upcoming April 8 solar eclipse, Lee said.
“We found some interesting facts about these tourists, including where they came from and when they visited different places in the region,” Lee said. “Much of what we discovered could be useful in preparing for this year’s solar eclipse.”
