Agent-Based Modelling in Visitor Management of Protected Areas

Abstract

The research was motivated by the growing importance of visitor management in protected ar-eas, which can be based on knowledge management, system modelling of processes and phe-nomena and a deeper knowledge of the experience of visitors in connection with the concept of psychological carrying capacity. The work builds on previous publications and research by the authors, focused on the optimization of tourism impacts, visitor management and the develop-ment of the theory and applicability of the concept of carrying capacity. It emphasizes the over-view analysis of the possibilities of using agent-based modeling and visualization of visitor flows in protected areas. The analysis of suitable sources was based on the PRISMA method, which showed the main research directions for the use of agent-based approach in visitor man-agement. For the practical application of modelling, the Netlogo environment was chosen, in which the visitor flows of the model area were simulated. The visitor attendance was evaluated in relation to the psychological carrying capacity. Subsequently, visitor management measures were implemented in the model, and repeated simulations of visitor attendance, based on mon-itored flows, were run for a specific location around Oheb Castle (the Železné hory/Iron Moun-tains, Bohemia). The main result is the innovative use of agent-based modelling in visitor man-agement in the context of visitor experience, visitor satisfaction and psychological carrying ca-pacity. The contribution of the presented research is also the proposal of future research direc-tions for more accurate use of psychological carrying capacity in visitor management.