Spatial Analysis of Tourist Routes Offered by Travel Agencies and Some Overtourism Issues: The Case of Crete

The process of trip planning encompasses various approaches, each of which is influenced by the preferences and requirements of travelers. One option is to seek guidance from experts, such as travel intermediaries and agencies, who can provide comprehensive tourist packages. Alternatively, travelers can rely on the abundant information available on the Internet and social media platforms, where fellow travelers share their experiences and testimonials directly. Moreover, recommendations may arise organically from activities like hotel bookings or air ticket purchases, leading to destination-specific suggestions. These recommendations and travel tips may form an individualized travel map, comprised of notable landmarks and points of interest, which eventually will shape the upcoming trip and the subsequent experiences of the journey. This research endeavor focuses on the examination and characterization of these recommendations, regarded as tourist routes, with the intention of identifying tourism areas of interest, as well as areas of unknown interest within a given destination. Additionally, considering the administrative boundaries defined by these routes, we propose an alternative strategy to monitor the phenomenon of overtourism. This pilot research focuses on day trips offered by various travel agencies in the region of Crete, Greece.