The research project is focuses on the interaction between tourists and their holiday environment. Activity patterns are the result of a decision making process, in which, e.g., tourist motivation, images and the perception and interpretation of the environment play a certain role. Markers are used by the tourist industry to influence tourist behaviour. The concept of the marker is related to the theory of semiotics, which focuses on the study of sign systems. Tourists interpret and make use of signs/markers to fill their vacation with activities and to give it meaning. The objective of this research project is to develop a theoretical and methodological framework for the analysis of `tourist recreation complexes'. The actual time-space behaviour determines the composition of a tourist recreation complex. It is states, that, apart from uncovering the functional and spatial associations of activity patterns and product elements, the meaning associations have to be added to the tourist recreation complex as well.
Samenvatting