Forecast Tourist Arrivals Using Map Search Data

The map search data, which reflect the willingness to travel, have the potential in forecasting tourist arrivals. This study introduces the map search data as a new indicator in tourist arrivals forecasting. The authors use Mount Tai and Macao, China’s daily tourist arrival data as experimental data and the map search volume index. By employing four widely-used methods, the authors use the map search data and search engine data as indicators in tourist arrivals forecasting. The experimental results show that the map search data can effectively improve forecasting performance, which is better than using search engine data. These findings are still valid during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining them in Macao, China’s data.