Two Types of Bottlenecks in Leisure Facilities: Bottlenecks Caused by Attractiveness and Structural Layout

In this study, we investigate the effect of congestion on visitor behavior in Kaiyukan aquarium in Osaka, Japan. Kaiyukan is one of the largest aquariums in the world, where visitors walk through a fixed one-way aisle, unlike most museums or aquariums, where visitors’ movement is not restricted. We acquire data using Bluetooth receivers displaced throughout Kaiyukan and monitor more than 3000 trajectories of visitors carrying beacons. We perform survival analysis and discover that when the exhibition areas are congested, the time spent by visitors viewing an exhibition decreases. Furthermore, two different causes of congestion are identified: the attractiveness of exhibitions and structural layouts. Our findings can provide insights into the congestion phenomenon and the importance of crowd management for reducing congestion in such leisure facilities.