Tourists’ visual attention to cultural landscapes under crowding stimuli: An eye-tracking approach

Research on visual attention and perceived crowding in culture-oriented tourism destinations remains scant. This study examines the effects of varying environmental stimuli on tourists’ visual attention to cultural landscapes. Eye-tracking experiments and self-reported surveys were used to collect data (n = 50). Participants were asked to view photos presenting varying environmental stimuli (e.g. crowding, mask-wearing measurement, etc.) in two culture-oriented tourism destinations (indoor and outdoor culture-oriented tourism destinations), followed by a questionnaire survey. Findings revealed that tourists paid more attention to the human crowds than cultural landscape when social density increased. Perceived crowding was significantly influenced by visual attention to cultural landscapes in both indoor and outdoor tourism destinations, with more silent effects in indoor settings. The findings of this study extend the normative theory of crowding and dual-process theory, and provide practical insights to optimize design for cultural landscapes and facilities to minimize tourists’ perceived crowding in culture-oriented tourism destinations.