A system-integrated approach for the design of tourist areas at the local level under changing conditions: A case study in the Altay Mountains

The existing approaches for the design of tourist areas often lead to limited flexibility in project implementation. To realize a more flexible approach, in this study, we formulated a model for planning and designing tourist areas at the local level. Moreover, specific tools for analyzing tourist areas and ensuring sustainable development under changing conditions were developed. This study was conducted in two tourist regions, Biryuzovaya Katun tourist complex and Belokurikha destination (including Belokurikha City with Belokurikha 2 Gornaya tourist complex and surrounding areas), in the Altay Mountains. We employed the recreation opportunity spectrum and proposed a system-integrated programming approach for the design of tourist areas at the destination and site levels. The key of this approach was the collection and analysis of current spatial data, including the spatial distribution of attractions and visitor flows. We constructed heat maps using video recording and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) observation data. Moreover, we analyzed the video stream using an image-analyzing framework You Only Look Once (YOLO) v5 software. The heat map of visitor flows based on video recording data in the Andreevskaya Sloboda museum of Belokurikha 2 Gornaya tourist complex allowed us to highlight the most attractive sites in this area and classify them into one of three types: points of functional concentration, points of transitional concentration, and points of attractions. The heat maps in Biryuzovaya Katun tourist complex, created using UAV observation data, allowed us to determine the spatiotemporal patterns of visitor flows and tourists’ preferences throughout the day within four time intervals: 09:00–12:00, 13:00–14:00, 14:00–15:00, and 16:00–18:00 (LST). The maximum visitor flow density occurred from 16:00 to 18:00 in the beach area of the artificial lake. A comparison between the visitor-concentrated sites and the current facilities provided insights into the demand for attractions and facilities and the lacking areas. Heat maps are useful in analyzing the land use at the site level, while zoning based on the recreation opportunity spectrum can be used to design tourist areas at the destination level. The proposed methods for analyzing the use of tourist areas contribute to the development of adaptive tourism design.