An operational definition of day trips: Methodological proposal and application to the case of the province of Barcelona

Abstract

The day tripper (or day visitor) is a visitor type that represents a high proportion of total visitor trips; however, unlike the tourist, few studies focus their attention specifically on them. Additionally, there is currently a marked deficit of methodological specificity in the definition of the concept and the quantification procedures used in its study. This article examines the various definitions proposed to date of the ‘day trip’, highlighting this lack of specificity, above all with regard to the concept of usual environment. It then proposes a specific methodology for the quantification of day trips in small areas, without discounting official statistics, but seeking to make it independent of other variables (including the size of a territory). We propose linking usual environment with belonging to the same urban system. The article concludes by applying our proposal to the case of the province of Barcelona.