Tourist familiarity in Amsterdam – Route choice behaviour of (un)familiar tourists within Amsterdam’s inner city Tourist familiarity in Amsterdam Route choice behaviour of (un)familiar domestic tourists within Amsterdam’s inner city John Jansen 3017478 Supervisor: Dr. B. Spierings 1 Tourist familiarity in Amsterdam – Route choice behaviour of (un)familiar tourists within Amsterdam’s inner city 2 Tourist familiarity in Amsterdam – Route choice behaviour of (un)familiar tourists within Amsterdam’s inner city Tourist familiarity in Amsterdam Route choice behaviour of un(familiar) tourists within Amsterdam’s inner city 3 Tourist familiarity in Amsterdam – Route choice behaviour of (un)familiar tourists within Amsterdam’s inner city 4 Tourist familiarity in Amsterdam – Route choice behaviour of (un)familiar tourists within Amsterdam’s inner city Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction........................................................................................................................ 7 1.1 Background.............................................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Scientific relevance.................................................................................................................. 9 1.3 Societal relevance.................................................................................................................. 10 1.4 Research questions ............................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Research structure ................................................................................................................ 10 1.6 Conceptual model ................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2 Tourist familiarity .............................................................................................................. 12 2.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Balancing between novelty and familiarity........................................................................... 12 2.3 Travel style typologies........................................................................................................... 13 2.4 Defining tourist familiarity .................................................................................................... 14 2.4.1 Informational familiarity ............................................................................................... 15 2.4.2 Experiential familiarity .................................................................................................. 15 2.4.3 Proximate familiarity ..................................................................................................... 16 2.4.4 Self‐described familiarity............................................................................................... 16 2.4.5 Educational familiarity................................................................................................... 16 2.4.6 Self‐assured familiarity.................................................................................................. 17 2.4.7 Expected familiarity....................................................................................................... 17 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 17 Chapter 3 Cognitive decisions in route choice behaviour of tourists ................................................ 19 3.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 Cognitive route choice decisions prior to the trip................................................................. 19 3.2.1 Tourist destination image.............................................................................................. 19 3.2.2 Mental mapping ............................................................................................................ 20 3.3 Cognitive route choice decisions during the trip .................................................................. 21 3.4 Route choice decisions and familiarity.................................................................................. 22 3.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 23 Chapter 4 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 24 4.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 24 4.1.1 Research area ................................................................................................................ 24 4.1.2 Target group .................................................................................................................. 24 4.2 Mental mapping .................................................................................................................... 25 4.2.1 Theory............................................................................................................................ 25 4.2.2 Operationalization and application............................................................................... 26 4.2.3 Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 26 4.3 Walk alongs and auto‐photography...................................................................................... 29 5 Tourist familiarity in Amsterdam – Route choice behaviour of (un)familiar tourists within Amsterdam’s inner city 4.3.1 Theory............................................................................................................................ 29 4.3.2 Operationalization and application............................................................................... 30 4.4.3 Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 5 Results ............................................................................................................................... 32 5.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 32 5.1.1 Mental maps.................................................................................................................. 32 5.1.2 Walk alongs ................................................................................................................... 36 5.1.3 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 36 5.2 The role of tourist familiarity in Amsterdam’s inner city ...................................................... 37 5.2.1 Informational familiarity ............................................................................................... 37 5.2.2 Experiential familiarity .................................................................................................. 39 5.2.3 Proximate familiarity ..................................................................................................... 40 5.2.4 Self‐described familiarity............................................................................................... 40 5.2.5 Educational familiarity................................................................................................... 41 5.2.6 Self‐assured familiarity.................................................................................................. 41 5.2.7 Expected familiarity....................................................................................................... 42 5.2.8 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 43 5.3 Tourist familiarity and route choice behaviour in Amsterdam ............................................. 44 5.3.1 Introduction................................................................................................................... 44 5.3.2 Route choice behaviour of relatively unfamiliar tourists.............................................. 44 5.3.3 Route choice behaviour of relatively familiar tourists .................................................. 52 5.3.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter 6 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 60 Chapter 7 References......................................................................................................................... 62 Appendix 1 Mental map research and questionnaire...................................................................... 66 Part 1: Your mental map of Amsterdam’s inner city......................................................................... 66 Part 2: Questionnaire concerning your drawn mental map ............................................................. 67 Appendix 2 Descriptives and significant correlation