Measuring Travelers’ Emotions via Social Media Analytics

Tourism is one of the many industries that have suffered in the pandemic; once restrictions are lifted, we all look forward to once again visiting hotels and tourist attractions. These experiences will not only help strengthen the tourism and hospitality industries, but also serve to brighten our mood after months of quarantine. 

Before the pandemic, Seunghyun “Brian” Park, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management in the Division of Administration and Economics in The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, utilized social media analytics in his tourism research to study visitor emotions at Disneyland in California, known as “the happiest place on earth.” 

His article, “Visualizing theme park visitors’ emotions using social media analytics and geospatial analytics,” employed the convergence of social media analytics and geospatial analytics. It was recently published in Tourism Management, one of the top-tier journals in hospitality and tourism. 

Dr. Park’s study analyzed 19,809 Twitter messages where Disneyland visitors expressed distinct types of emotion. Dr. Park and his co-researchers found the areas in the theme park where emotions were significantly clustered. Based on their research, the authors developed and suggested a travel route that will evoke pleasant emotional experiences in Disneyland.  

In recent years, Dr. Park has presented and published several social media analytics research projects investigating consumer emotions on cruises, in restaurants, at theme parks and festivals, and on airlines. 

Click here to read the complete article.

Click here to view Disneyland attractions with emotional quadrants