Toward a Destination Visitor Attendance Estimation Model: Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

The nongated and multiple entry point character of many destinations makes it difficult to accurately estimate visitor attendance. This research describes a modeling procedure for credibly estimating tourist attendance in such destinations. It demonstrates the application of the approach in the mountain tourism destination of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. This article suggests that while the model is capable of providing timely and relevant attendance estimates for destination managers, its credibility is dependent on access to a substantive base of both audited attendance data concerning anchored visitors and specific behavioral information collected on a systematic basis from footloose visitors in the destination. The findings are offered as a contribution to the growing literature on tourism destination and special event visitor attendance estimation and performance assessment.