The Positium Barometer: A Web-Based Tool for Monitoring the Mobility of Tourists

This paper introduces the principles and methodology of the mobile-positioning-based online tourism monitoring tool “Positium Barometer” (http://www.positium.com/barometer/tourism/). The system has been developed, with a geographical focus on urban and regional planning and tourism management, to obtain statistical overviews and standardized analyses about the space-time behavior of tourists. The system uses as source data mobile operators' log files in which the starting locations of foreign roaming clients' (tourists') call activities have been stored. The database is anonymous and the identity of phones, phone owners, and phone numbers are strictly protected pursuant to EU directives. This study focuses on the methodological and technical aspects of data processing, sampling, and problems related to the use of such a “planning machine.”