Photo Zone Preference and Image Analysis for Invigorating Garden Tourism

Background and objective: Photo zones (PHZs) are important environmental factors in garden tourism. This study was conducted to evaluate PHZs that could contribute to the invigoration of garden tourism.Methods: After classifying PHZs into 16 types (6 natural types and 10 artificial types), a questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data on the general perception of PHZs, preferences for different PHZ types, and images that affect preferences. The data were subject to descriptive analysis, frequency analysis, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis.Results: Regarding the intention to use PHZs, 63.8% of the respondents responded positively. Landscape image was highly perceived as a selection criterion for PHZs, and the overall image was highly perceived as an important element of PHZ design. The frequency of the most preferred PHZ type was high in garden type, natural phenomenon type, and grotto type among the natural types, while it was high in character type, moon-shaped type, and heart-shaped type among the artificial types. The PHZ type preference was higher for natural types than for artificial types. PHZ types that showed high preference included garden type and natural phenomenon type among the natural types, and the moon-shaped type and historical symbol type among the artificial types. Multiple regression models showed that "beautiful" and "natural" were highly explanatory variables for the preference of overall PHZ types, and "interesting" was a highly explanatory variable for the preference of PHZ types composed of sculptures.Conclusion: The result that the garden type PHZs were evaluated highly suggests that gardens are valuable resources for local tourism. The classification of PHZs and the items for preference and image analysis applied in the study can provide a helpful evaluation tool for developing PHZs that increase the attractiveness of garden tourism as well as local tourism.