Tourist behaviour and the importance of time-space analysis

Although spatial movements are among the most typical characteristics of tourism and recreation, attention to this phenomenon is normally restricted to the analysis of static visitor numbers and their demographic or socio-economic characteristics, However, the continuing differentiation in the demand for leisure goods and services makes the development of time-space analysis necessary in order to develop a coherent tourism product. This is illustrated by a case-study from the southern part of the Netherlands and by an analysis of the time-space behaviour of visitors to the Efteling theme park in the Netherlands