Tourism intensity: estimated annual visitors number in 2019 (Adamiak et al.)
This layer maps the global distribution of tourism intensity, estimating how many tourists visit each area.
Category: Physical risks · Cultural services Coverage: Global Format: Boundary polygons (hexagonal grid) Used in risk analysis: Yes — gates Cultural services
What it shows
This layer maps the global distribution of tourism intensity, estimating how many tourists visit each area. It highlights major tourism hotspots worldwide. It matters for nature-related risk because concentrated visitor pressure can affect natural and cultural resources, while tourism-dependent areas are themselves sensitive to changes in the surrounding environment.
How it is built
The layer is based on Adamiak et al. (2019), which estimated domestic and international tourist visits for the year 2019 and distributed them across a global hexagonal grid. The measured variable is the estimated annual number of tourist visits per cell. Values reflect the relative concentration of tourism activity, allowing hotspots to stand out clearly against quieter areas.
How to read it
Higher values indicate areas with greater tourism intensity and therefore more concentrated visitor pressure on local natural and cultural resources. Lower values indicate areas with little tourism activity. Each hexagonal cell carries an estimated visitor count, so the layer reads as a continuous intensity surface rather than discrete sites.
Source
Adamiak et al. (2019) — global tourism intensity, estimated annual visitors for 2019.
Comparison with the WWF Risk Filter Suite
This relates to WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter indicator S4_1 Natural & Cultural Resources, on the terrestrial side. WWF builds that indicator from a recreation surface (Hooftman, 2023) combined with marine ocean-health data; Darwin covers terrestrial tourism intensity from Adamiak et al. As a result, marine recreation and sense-of-place are not captured by this layer, while the terrestrial tourism signal is directly relevant.
Risk analysis
A site is flagged on a dimension by combining a proximity trigger (this layer) with an activity trigger (the entity's ENCORE pressure/service). Proximity only → Potentially material; proximity and the matching ENCORE pressure/service is material → Very material; neither → Not material.
| Dimension | ENCORE service / pressure | Proximity trigger (this layer) | Activity trigger (entity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cultural services | Recreation related services | Layer value above 1000000 | “Recreation related services” pressure ≥ 4 |
Legend
Symbolised field: Annual visitors
| Class | Colour |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | #ffffff |
| 75,000,000 | #ff0000 |
Generated from darwin/layers/layer-tourism-intensity-estimated-annual-visitors-number-in-2019-adamiak-et-al.toml and risk_indicator_pairs.toml (develop).