Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás.

Enlightening Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

Received 9 March 2023; Received in revised form 20 November 2023; Accepted 8 January 2024

Unveiling astrotourists’ profiles. Activities, motivations,

economic and social benefits and experiences

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel.* Facultad de Ciencias del Trabajo. Universidad de Córdoba,

Spain, d42sosam@uco.es; Instituto Andaluz de Investigación e Innovación en Turismo

(IATUR), Málaga, Spain

Aja-Valle, Jaime. Facultad de Ciencias del Trabajo. Universidad de Córdoba, Spain,

jaime.aja@uco.es

Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales. Universidad de

Sevilla, Spain, rarteaga@us.es

López-Guzmán, Tomás. Facultad de Ciencias del Trabajo. Universidad de Córdoba, Spain,

tomas.lopez@uco.es; Instituto Andaluz de Investigación e Innovación en Turismo (IATUR),

Málaga, Spain

*Corresponding author

ABSTRACT

This research aims to determine the variations that occur

in the socio-demographic profile (gender, age,

educational level and income) of the visitor interested in

astrotourism based on some questions about the activities

they carry out related to astronomy, motivations,

economic and social benefits and the assessment of

experiences about astrotourism through data gathered by

a questionnaire. An artificial neural network is developed

to generate potential “identikits” or estimated profiles of

astrotourists based on the replies incorporated into the

model and easily customisable by the researcher, which is

especially useful in developing products and services

adapted to astrotourism.

RESUMEN

Esta investigación pretende determinar las variaciones que se

producen en el perfil sociodemográfico (sexo, edad, nivel de

estudios y renta) del visitante interesado en el astroturismo a

partir de algunas preguntas sobre las actividades que realiza

relacionadas con la astronomía, motivaciones, beneficios

económicos y sociales y la valoración de experiencias sobre el

astroturismo a través de los datos recogidos mediante un

cuestionario. Se desarrolla una red neuronal artificial para

generar potenciales «identikits» o perfiles estimados de

astroturistas a partir de las respuestas incorporadas al modelo

y fácilmente personalizables por el investigador, lo que resulta

especialmente útil en el desarrollo de productos y servicios

adaptados al astroturismo.

KEYWORDS

Astrotourism; Astronomical Tourism; Astrotourist;

Stars; Artificial Neural Networks; Multilayer

Perceptron.

PALABRAS CLAVE

Astroturismo; Turismo astronómico; Astroturista; Estrellas;

Redes neuronales artificiales; Perceptrón multicapa.

ENLIGHTENING TOURISM: A PATHMAKING

JOURNAL

journal homepage: https://uhu.es/publicaciones/ojs/index.php/et

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

INTRODUCTION

Humanity has always been attracted by the sky and

the stars as a source of fascination and inspiration,

finding a reason for experience and memory

(Rodrigues et al. 2023) and for what the light of stars

and other celestial bodies represents for humanity

(Escario-Sierra et al., 2022). In this sense, space

measures the year’s seasons and determines the time

of different activities, such as agriculture (Collison &

Poe, 2013). The stars have served (and currently do)

to inspire novels and to create myths and legends.

Likewise, the sky represents culture and science. It is

a crucial element in education (Tapada et al., 2021)

in the scientific vocations of young people, especially

women.

In recent years, the development of astrotourism

has been promoted, which consists of contemplating

the skies and the stars in places with low pollution

and far from areas with light pollution. Astrotourism

is cultural, natural and scientific tourism (Charlier &

Bourgeois, 2013). It is a typology of tourism of a

multidimensional nature with different types of

interactions (Tapada et al., 2021) since it allows

connecting the sky, nature and tourism in certain

rural places, promoting their economy and

sustainability, and reinforcing historical aspects,

social, scientific, symbolic and cultural (Rodrigues &

Loureiro, 2022; Wassenaar & Coetzee, 2024).

Astrotourism has its reference in the Starlight

Foundation (fundacionstarlight.org). The Starlight

Foundation was created in 1982 by the Astrophysics

Institute of the Canary Islands, Spain. Currently, the

Starlight Foundation is a project within UNESCO

and is supported by the International Astronomical

Union and the World Tourism Organization

(UNWTO). Consequently, and supported by these

international organisations, the Starlight Foundation

and the UNWTO are promoting scientific tourism

through astrotourism.

In the same way that UNESCO has created a

system of inscriptions of places as World Heritage

Sites (WHS) or elements as Intangible Heritage of

Humanity, which, in addition to preserving these

places and/or elements for future generations, also

supposes an attraction for tourist flows, the Starlight

Foundation has created a certification system for

specific locations. This certification system approves

spaces that have excellent quality for the

contemplation of the starry sky and, therefore, these

areas need special protection and conservation by

public authorities and private companies, being at the

same time a claim for attracting people interested in

contemplating the stars. The Starlight Certification

combines science and tourism, taking advantage of

astronomy and the vision of the firmament as an

instrument for a new form of sustainable tourism

(Foundation Starlight, 2022a).

For this reason, it is necessary to approach the

study of astrotourism as an example of sustainable

tourism in rural areas since it will allow the local

community to obtain economic and social benefits

and will also help them fight against the depopulation

of these destinations (Jacobs et al., 2020; Sawada et

al., 2024) or develop other eco-recreational activities

(Batinoluho, 2024; Kement et al., 2023). This type of

tourism positively impacts the cultural, scientific and

environmental heritage of the locations recognised by

the Foundation Starlight (2022b). It would benefit the

local economy and the country by attracting more

visitors from within and abroad to learn more about

astronomy and astro-tourism.

Furthermore, it reinforces the area’s

biodiversity by providing a sustainable and

meaningful tourism experience aligned with the

conservation of natural resources and cultural

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

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heritage in situ (Mushy, 2024). Wassenaar and

Coetzee (2024) highlighted that parks and reserves

represent optimal locations for providing premium

astrotourism experiences with minimal

environmental impact.

Moreover, due to the reduced infrastructure

requirements, astrotourism can be implemented at a

minimal cost. Stargazing can be undertaken without

using optical instruments at no cost or with

inexpensive binoculars (Mitchell & Gallaway, 2019;

Mushy, 2024). Furthermore, it offers prospects for

scientific education, the dissemination of indigenous

knowledge and active involvement, enhancing the

experience of tourists and the local host community

(Mushy, 2024). This is why astrotourism contributes

to the achievement of several United Nations

Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations,

2015).

On the other hand, this type of tourism can

contribute to awakening the scientific vocations of

young people, especially by promoting the

participation of women and girls and seeking their

scientific vocation. It is even possible to promote

astronomy among the youngest through educational

centres.

Many researchers agree that rural areas are

heterogeneous and present different characteristics

(Jacobs et al., 2020; Pizarro & Verelst, 2023).

Despite this, there are distinctive characteristics

common to all: visitors to rural areas generate

authentic interaction with the natural environment

and primarily participate actively in the activities,

traditions and lifestyles of local communities

(Huimina & Ryan, 2012; Okech et al., 2012).

Tourists seek this different and “unique-identity”

experience (Álvarez-García et al., 2019).

Understanding the motivational factors that affect

their decision-making is essential in developing a

tourism destination (Jacobs et al., 2020; Rodrigues et

al., 2022).

Tapada et al. (2021) point out that the scientific

literature must reinforce the definition and

delimitation of astrotourism, considering its

activities’ typologies. It is also necessary to analyse

the sensations and experiences of astrotourists

(Tapada et al., 2021; Rodrigues et al., 2023) to

develop and promote different tourist activities that

complement each other to provide visitors with more

complete, innovative and attractive offers.

Thus, this research aims to determine the

variations that occur in the socio-demographic profile

(gender, age, educational level and income) of the

visitor interested in astrotourism based on some

questions about the activities they carry out related to

astronomy, motivations, economic and social

benefits and the assessment of experiences about

astrotourism through the development of an artificial

neural network (ANN). Following this method, the

generation of potential “identikits” or estimated

profiles of astrotourists based on the replies

incorporated into the ANN and easily customisable

by the researcher is intended, especially useful in

developing the products and services adapted to

astrotourism. Although this methodology has been

used successfully on flamenco shows profiles’

attendees (García-García et al., 2023), gastronomic

tourists (Moral-Cuadra et al., 2022), or visitors to

WHS (Valverde-Roda et al., 2023), no studies of this

type applied to astronomical tourism were found.

This work aims to pioneer this line, covering the gap

detected.

This study’s innovation focuses on analysing

the astrotourism experience approaching sensations

and motivations concerning the socio-demographic

profile. Although the scientific literature has begun to

explore motivation (Pásková et al., 2021; Rodrigues

et al., 2022; Rodrigues et al., 2023), the impact of

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

astrotourism on destination image (Soleimani et al.,

2019), the interaction with other tourist resources

(Van Wyk-Jacobs, 2018) or a destination for

photography fans (Rodrigues et al., 2020), aspects

regarding the identification of the socio-demographic

profile of astrotourists, as well as the study of their

motivations remain, they are still little researched.

1. LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1) What is astroturism

Astrotourism is currently shaped as a key element in

the sustainable development of certain rural

territories, which makes it possible to adequately

combine social, economic and environmental

resources (Álvarez-García et al., 2019; Jacobs et al.,

2020; Violin et al., 2024). Likewise, this type of

tourism allows the reinforcement of science and is

crucial for developing the scientific vocation of

young people. At the same time, it is an inclusive and

accessible tourism that allows people of all ages to

contemplate the fascinating spectacle of the stars.

Astrotourism is related to archaeotourism and

ethnotourism (Tapada et al., 2021). It represents the

importance of studying and contemplating the sky for

humanity and all the mythologies that have

developed around it.

Astrotourism has three different

dimensions: first, the scientific dimension that is

based on protecting the quality of the starry sky;

second, the cultural dimension that focuses on

promoting astronomy as part of the scientific, cultural

and environmental heritage; and third, the economic

dimension that seeks the income generation by the

tourist flux, particularly in the local community.

Astrotourism is committed to historical, social,

scientific, symbolic and cultural concepts (Tapada et

al., 2021). Thus, astrotourism combines cultural,

natural, and scientific tourism (Charlier & Bourgeois,

2013).

Astrotourism is tourism that seeks new

experiences in different places by creating dark-sky

reserves and starlight parks (Tapada et al., 2021;

Escario-Sierra et al. 2022). Currently, astrotourism is

highly developed in various parts of the world,

highlighting the Canary Islands (Spain), Portugal,

Chile and the United States

1.2) Astrotourism destinations

The tourist destination’s determination must have

unique characteristics for astrotourism. In this sense,

Fayos-Solá et al. (2014) point out that they must have

the following features: first, the professional

approach to the scientific aspects of the place;

second, the creation of adequate tourist products; and

third, the consolidation of an acceptable tourism

policy. In these astrotourism destinations, it is

necessary to combine reducing light pollution

without restricting services to society that allow

artificial light in the absence of sunlight (Escario-

Sierra et al., 2022).

The sky by itself is not enough to cause the

arrival of visitors. Still, the promotion and use of a

series of measures are required to ease the

development of tourist products related to the

dissemination of astronomy (Escario-Sierra et al.,

2022). Therefore, it would be necessary to reinforce

the following aspects in the destination: first,

investment in infrastructure; second, training of

specialised personnel (tourism and astronomy); third,

protection of the unpolluted night sky; and fourth,

preserve the environment’s natural state (Escario-

Sierra et al., 2022).

The certifications are obtained after an audit

process where environmental requirements, lighting

strategies, infrastructures and available resources are

analysed. The Starlight Reserves and the Starlight

Tourist Destinations stand out among these

certifications. The Starlight Reserves are protected

natural spaces where both an exceptional quality of

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

the night sky and access to contemplate the light of

the stars are sought. There are currently 17 Starlight

Reserves worldwide. For their part, the Starlight

Tourist Destinations are places that can be visited,

which enjoy excellent qualities for contemplating the

starry skies and which, being protected from light

pollution, are especially suitable for developing

tourist activities based on this natural resource in

these places. There are 54 Starlight Tourist

Destinations worldwide (Foundation Starlight,

2022b).

1.3) Motivations

Motivation influences the choice because it is one of

the tourist’s primary impulses when planning their

trip. The reasons why an individual chooses a

destination and travels to it can be diverse. Delving

into the scientific literature on the motivations for

which a person demands a particular product or

service, it is observed that it is a variable subject to

both environmental changes and societal behavioural

variations. In this sense, motivation is a dynamic

process since the consumer modifies it based on his

experience or the evolution of his status and age

(Pearce, 1982).

Tourists decide to travel because they have

different motivations and culture is one of the main

reasons for this (Correia et al., 2013). Astrotourism is

cultural tourism, and some previous studies have

evaluated the main motivations for carrying out this

type of tourism (Amorim et al., 2019; Carreira et al.,

2021; Joseph et al., 2022; Rodrigues & Loureiro,

2022; Rodrigues et al., 2022; Rodrigues et al., 2023;

Solano-Sánchez et al., 2022). At the same time, the

destination must be explicitly analysed since there is

a great diversity of places and also of variables that

affect each one of them as there is intense

competition between destinations to attract tourists,

especially those from abroad (Kim et al., 2014;

Thong et al., 2024), presenting different types of

resources. Following Abuamoud et al. (2014), the

demand for these destinations is influenced both by

the services provided by public managers and private

companies and by the collaboration of the local

community in promoting tourism in those areas. In

astrotourism the synergies between the different

public administrations and private companies are

essential.

Identifying tourists’ motivations, satisfaction

level, assessment, and loyalty are crucial to carrying

out the correct sustainable management of

destinations. Thus, it is necessary to define the

strategies for public managers and private

companies. In addition, it is essential to interpret the

sky and the stars correctly in these destinations.

Consequently, this would imply, on the part of public

managers and private companies in that place,

making a correct interpretation of the cross-cultural

context of this destination (Saipradist & Staiff, 2007).

For this reason, public managers must reinforce the

visitor’s understanding of astronomy in these places.

2. METHODLOGY

2.1) Data collection

The methodology consists of conducting fieldwork

by surveying people interested in astrotourism. The

purpose is to develop a segmentation of people

interested in astrotourism based on their activities at

the destination and their socio-demographic profile.

The characteristics of the population present

difficulties in the sample design of a quantitative

study through a survey. In the present research, and

in line with what has been indicated in certain field

studies by the scientific literature (Callegaro et al.,

2015), no sampling framework identifies the entire

population. Likewise, the composition of the

population to build quotas is not known either (Díaz

de Rada Igúzquiza et al., 2019). On the other hand, it

has not been possible to carry out fieldwork in

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

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https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

astrotourism destinations either, since these are

varied, dispersed, and, to a large extent, unknown,

since astrotourism can be carried out practically

anywhere with little light pollution and it is not

necessary for is certified by the Starlight Foundation.

For these reasons, it has been decided to carry

out a web survey of a self-selected sample (Callegaro

et al., 2015) or a volunteer sample (Couper, 2000),

supported by advertisements on social networks

aimed at people interested in astronomy, to try to

reduce possible voluntariness bias. This type of

sample is adapted to the present research aim since it

allows the creation of typologies of tourists according

to the activities they carry out without the need to

know the composition of the population. This way of

developing fieldwork has several advantages, such as

the cost/effectiveness ratio, the ease of covering a

larger population and sample selection, the rapid

collection of the questionnaires and the minimisation

of errors in the tabulation process (Evans & Mathur,

2005).

On the other hand, this fieldwork provides great

geographical and temporal flexibility, something

essential in this type of research. At the same time,

the biases associated with the interviewer are not

present, such as the social desirability bias (Díaz de

Rada Igúzquiza et al., 2019). Additionally, this type

of fieldwork tends to give fewer extreme answers

(Frippiat & Marquis, 2010), which is especially

interesting for studies that focus on analysing the

satisfaction and motivations of tourists. This type of

data collection is widely accepted in tourism research

(Otto et al., 2020) and, broadly, in the social sciences

(Frippiat & Marquis, 2010). The fieldwork for this

research was carried out between December 2021

and April 2022, using convenience sampling and

collecting 493 responses, of which 328 were valid.

2.2) Survey design

The survey design has been based on previous

scientific literature (Rodrigues et al., 2015; Jacobs et

al., 2020; Tapada et al., 2021; Rodrigues et al., 2023).

Different tourist managers and university professors

pretested the initial questionnaire. This pretest

allowed a more detailed survey to be checked by a

pilot study of 30 people interested in astrotourism.

Once the pretest and the pilot study were completed,

the final version of the questionnaire was designed.

The final version of the survey pursues the greater

clarity of the questions, the more significant

adjustment of the responses to achieve the research

aim and the greatest possible precision to not

excessively prolong the interview with the person

surveyed. The questionnaire was set between five and

seven minutes, an optimal duration for self-

administered web questionnaires (Revilla & Ochoa,

2017).

The questionnaire is completely anonymous and

is divided into two parts. The first part includes

questions related to the motivations for travelling to

contemplate the sky and the stars, the economic and

social benefits of astrotourism, and an assessment of

related experiences. The second part analyses the

socio-demographic characteristics of the people

surveyed, including gender, age, academic training

and monthly household income. The questions

included in the first part of the questionnaire were

formulated through a seven-point Likert scale, where

1 referred to “little” and 7 “a lot”. On the other hand,

the questions collected in the second part of the

questionnaire were closed-ended type.

2.3) Data analysis

Rumelhart and McClelland (1986) define an artificial

neural network (ANN) as a network composed of

several process elements (PE) or nodes with a small

amount of storage capacity. These units are

composed of a vector of inputs (x1, x2, …, xn), with

synaptic weights (w1, w2, …, wn) that are applied to

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

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these input vectors using a propagation rule (based on

the corresponding linear combination). Applying an

activation function to that propagation rule provides

the output value of these nodes. The nodes are

grouped into several layers: input, output, and

intermediate or hidden layers (one or more).

Using SPSS Statistics software v.23, an ANN of

the multilayer perceptron (MLP) type is developed,

in which the input values correspond to the responses

obtained in the survey, and the output values

correspond to the estimates that the network makes

on the different socio-demographic characteristics of

the astrotourist’s profile. Considering

automatic/default configuration regarding hidden

layers/neurons and activation function, various

networks are tested, preserving the one that presents

a higher degree of adjustment in terms of coefficient

of determination (R2) and mean absolute percentage

error (MAPE).

3. RESULTS

3.1) Socio-demographic tourist’s profile

and question collection

The socio-demographic profile obtained from the

sample is presented in Table 1. Almost two out of

three respondents are men. It stands out as medium

and medium-high purchasing power since two-thirds

of the sample exceeds €1,500 monthly household

income. A high academic level is also detected since

two out of three respondents have university studies

or higher. Regarding age, 9 out of 10 participants are

over 29 years old, and 7 out of 10 are over 41. The

average profile corresponds to a man of medium/high

income, with university studies and between 30 and

50 years.

Gender (GEN)

Academic training

(ATR)

Male

64.63%

Primary

education

1.83%

Female

35.37%

Secondary

education

11.58%

Vocational

education/

Professiona

l Course

20.43%

Monthly household

income (INC)

University

graduate

31.71%

Less than

700€

4.88%

Masters/Ph

34.45%

701€ to

1,000€

6.40%

Age (AGE)

1,001€ to

1,500€

23.78%

18–29

years old

10.37%

1,501€ to

2,500€

31.40%

30–41

years old

20.12%

2,501€ to

3,500€

17.38%

42–53

years old

40.55%

More than

3,501€

16.16%

54–65

years old

23.78%

More than

65 years

old

5.18%

Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of the respondents.

Source: Own elaboration.

The questions presented in the survey on a

seven-point Likert scale are shown in Table 2. These

are grouped into activities that promote astrotourism

(Q01-Q06), motivations (Q07-Q18), economic and

social benefits (Q19-Q23) and experiences’

assessment (Q24, Q25). The items (Table 2) that

generated the most agreement among the people

surveyed refer to the willingness to return to

practising astrotourism (Q25), the awakening of

scientific vocations (Q20), obtaining a unique

experience (Q11) or the perception of the

astrotourism as a sustainable activity (Q19). On the

contrary, the questions that generated the most

disagreement include the motivation of indulging

(Q15), meeting new people (Q12), feeling renewed

(Q14) or escaping from the daily routine (Q16).

Code

Question

Mean

Activities that encourage you to do

astrotourism

Q01

Visit an astronomical science

park

5.61

1.65

Q02

Visit an astronomical

observatory

6.11

1.37

Q03

Participate in a guided night

walking tour

5.71

1.59

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

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Q04

Participate in an activity of

interpretation and night

observation in astronomical

viewpoints

6.01

1.32

Q05

Photography activities

5.45

1.73

Q06

Visit a destination related to

astronomy

6.18

1.17

Motivations for astrotourism

Q07

Increase my knowledge

about the skies

6.02

1.35

Q08

Satisfy my curiosity

6.13

1.26

Q09

Use my imagination

5.30

1.61

Q10

To discover new things

6.09

1.24

Q11

Get a unique experience

6.27

1.15

Q12

Meet new people

4.62

1.85

Q13

Spend my free time

5.64

1.52

Q14

To feel renewed

4.98

1.78

Q15

To indulge me

4.55

1.94

Q16

To escape from the daily

routine

5.07

1.88

Q17

To get away from the crowds

(people, traffic)

5.36

1.87

Q18

To have cultural experiences

different from my daily life

5.66

1.59

Economic and social benefits of astrotourism

Q19

Astrotourism is sustainable

tourism

6.20

1.24

Q20

Astrotourism awakens

scientific vocations

6.29

1.11

Q21

Astrotourism makes it

possible to deseasonalise

trips

5.86

1.38

Q22

Astrotourism is an

instrument to fight against

depopulation

5.66

1.58

Q23

Astrotourism helps to

develop certain areas socially

and economically

6.05

1.26

Assessment of astrotourism experience

Q24

I made the right decision

choosing astrotourism

6.13

1.15

Q25

After my experience, I think

I will do astrotourism again

6.48

1.01

Table 2. Astrotourism question set. Source: Own

elaboration.

3.2) Artificial neural network

performance

The reached ANN structure is shown in Table 3 and

Figure 1. The input values correspond to all the

answers obtained in each one of the questions, the

latter being the nodes that form the input layer. These

values are later standardised and multiplied by their

synaptic weights (Figure 1), obtaining the values of

the hidden layer. These are transformed by the

hyperbolic tangent as an activation function and

multiplied by their respective synaptic weights

(Figure 1), thus obtaining the output values, which

correspond to the estimates of the different items of

the socio-demographic profile. These last values

invert their standardisation to obtain numerical

values in the range shown in Table 1 (dependent

variables).

Input

Layer

Bias

Value=1

Covariates

Q01

Q02

Q03

Q04

Q05

Q06

Q07

Q08

Q09

Q10

Q11

Q12

Q13

Q14

Q15

Q16

Q17

Q18

Q19

Q20

Q21

Q22

Q23

Q24

Q25

Number of Units

(excluding bias)

Hidden

Layer

Rescaling Method for

Covariates

Standardis

Number of Hidden Layers

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

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Number of Units in

Hidden Layer (excluding

bias)

Activation Function

Hyperbolic

tangent

Output

Layer

Dependent Variables

GEN=1

(male)

GEN=2

(female)

AGE

(from 18

to 75)

ATR (from

1 to 5)

INC (from

1 to 6)

Number of Units

Rescaling Method for

Scale Dependents

Standardis

Activation Function

Identity

Error Function

Sum of

Squares

Table 3. ANN’s structure. Source: Own elaboration.

The data obtained during the ANN development

process are shown in Table 4. First, the sample is

divided with an approximate weighting of 70%‒30%

between the training and testing groups. The training

group continuously generates different synaptic

weights, while the test group checks the errors made

by the network using synaptic weights. When the

testing group detects that it is no longer possible to

continue reducing the error committed by the ANN

(that is, the difference between the real and estimated

values), the training group stops (stopping rule, Table

4), and the network is finished. Thus, Table 4 shows

the errors made by both groups according to the

different nodes of the output layer, the stopping rule

and the time obtained to generate the ANN.

Trainin

(N=230

;

70.12%

)

Sum of Squares

Error

312.552

Average Overall

Relative Error

0.791

Percent Incorrect

Predictions for

Categorical

Dependents

GEN

30.43%

Relative Error

for Scale

Dependents

AGE

0.781

ATR

0.739

INC

0.820

Stopping Rule

Used

consecutiv

e step(s)

with no

decrease

in error

(based on

the testing

sample)

Training Time

0:00:00.18

Testing

(N=98;

29.88%

)

Sum of Squares

Error

164.960

Average Overall

Relative Error

0.916

Percent Incorrect

Predictions for

Categorical

Dependents

GEN

33.67%

Relative Error

for Scale

Dependents

AGE

0.848

ATR

0.967

INC

0.899

Table 4. ANN’s development summary. Source: Own

elaboration.

Figure 1. ANN’s graphic representation. Source: Own elaboration.

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

The goodness of fit obtained in the network

output values consistent with the different items of

the socio-demographic profile is shown in Table 5.

First, the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE)

indicates the percentage difference between real and

estimated values. Second, the coefficient of

determination (R2) is the percentage of variance

variability the estimate can achieve. The MAPE

obtained present values that oscillate around 25%,

and the R2 indicates that, on average, the model

obtained explains approximately 45% of the

variability of the variance.

GEN

AGE

ATR

INC

Overall

MAPE

22.56

20.66

25.85

33.97

25.76%

R²

94.93

25.21

36.12

22.49

44.69%

Table 4. ANN’s goodness of fit. Source: Own elaboration.

The methodology also allows to know the

degree of importance that each input node contributes

to the ANN (Figure 2). Thus, issues such as the

willingness to return to do astrotourism (Q25),

discover new things (Q10) and participate in an

interpretation and observation from an astronomical

viewpoint (Q04) stand out among the more critical

items in the network conformation. On the contrary,

meeting new people (Q12), indulging yourself (Q15)

or having cultural experiences different from those of

daily life (Q18) stand out among those that added less

importance to the model.

Figure 2. ANN exogenous variables’ relevance. Source:

Own elaboration.

Additionally, it is also possible to know the

degree of influence that each input node has on each

of the output ones. To do this, all the output data is

collected, while question by question is put in its

minimum (1) and maximum (7) value, remaining the

rest of the questions that are not analysed at their

mean. Once the results have been obtained, and in

terms of ease info display, the ten questions that had

the most significant influence on both the increase

(Table 6) and the decrease (Table 7) of the different

output items corresponding to the socio-demographic

profile are shown.

Thus, Table 6 shows how the willingness to

repeat astrotourism activities (Q25) and the

perception of it as an instrument to fight depopulation

(Q22) grows according to the age and income of the

respondent. On the other hand, as the academic level

is higher, the interest in a night route increases (Q03),

and the perception that astrotourism awakens

scientific vocations (Q20) or the motivation to satisfy

21.99%

22.29%

24.65%

25.59%

26.33%

26.43%

27.59%

31.58%

31.60%

34.94%

36.33%

36.49%

37.34%

40.88%

43.07%

44.39%

45.96%

46.65%

47.42%

54.92%

55.22%

56.06%

70.05%

74.36%

100.00%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Q12

Q15

Q18

Q09

Q16

Q05

Q13

Q20

Q14

Q17

Q08

Q19

Q06

Q22

Q11

Q01

Q07

Q23

Q03

Q02

Q21

Q24

Q04

Q10

Q25

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

curiosity increases (Q08). On the other hand, the

older profiles also show a perception of making the

right decision when choosing to do astrotourism

(Q24) and that it helps to adjust the trips seasonally

(Q21).

Question

Socdem.

items

Var.

Q25

After my experience, I

think I will do

astrotourism again

AGE

30.33%

Q25

After my experience, I

think I will do

astrotourism again

INC

24.83%

Q24

I made the right decision

choosing astrotourism

AGE

23.22%

Q03

Participate in a guided

night walking tour

ATR

17.12%

Q21

Astrotourism makes it

possible to deseasonalise

trips

AGE

16.58%

Q22

Astrotourism is an

instrument to fight

against depopulation

INC

15.73%

Q22

Astrotourism is an

instrument to fight

against depopulation

AGE

14.07%

Q20

Astrotourism awakens

scientific vocations

ATR

13.51%

Q08

Satisfy my curiosity

ATR

13.16%

Q09

Use my imagination

INC

12.54%

Table 6. Questions with the most direct influence on

profiles’ socio-demographic items. Source: Own

elaboration.

Table 7 presents a growing interest in the

interpretation and in night observation from different

astronomical viewpoints (Q04), as well as in the

search for a unique experience (Q11) as the age and

income of the respondents decrease. Related to the

above, an inverse relationship is also found between

an interest in discovering new things (Q10) and

income level. For their part, older profiles show a

decreasing interest in walking routes (Q03). As the

level of academic training increases, the motivation

of astrotourism to discover new things decreases

(Q10), the conception that this type of tourism allows

seasonal adjustment of trips (Q21) and a decreasing

interest in visiting an astronomical science park

(Q01).

Question

Socdem.

items

Var.

Q04

Participate in an activity

of interpretation and

night observation in

astronomical viewpoints

INC

-22.21%

Q10

To discover new things

ATR

-19.06%

Q23

Astrotourism helps to

develop certain areas

socially and

economically

INC

-18.29%

Q11

Get a unique experience

AGE

-18.01%

Q10

To discover new things

INC

-16.61%

Q03

Participate in a guided

night walking tour

AGE

-16.51%

Q11

Get a unique experience

INC

-16.09%

Q01

Visit an astronomical

science park

ATR

-15.32%

Q21

Astrotourism makes it

possible to deseasonalise

trips

ATR

-14.50%

Q04

Participate in an activity

of interpretation and

night observation in

astronomical viewpoints

AGE

-14.16%

Table 7. Questions with the most inverse influence on

profiles’ socio-demographic items. Source: Own

elaboration.

4. DISCUSSION

It is revealed how age and income seem to be

correlated in tastes and preferences ‒in line with

Moral-Cuadra et al. (2022) and Valverde-Roda et al.

(2023)‒, since they show a greater interest in

repeating the practice of astrotourism and an

awareness of it as an instrument to fight against

depopulation. They also show less interest in

interpreting astronomical viewpoints, looking for

silent contemplation, and searching for a “unique”

experience, perhaps because they are prone to

repeating the experience and do not perceive it as

something unique and/or unusual. Additionally, and

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

related to the latter, there is less interest in

discovering new things as income increases, which

slightly contradicts Rodrigues and Loureiro (2022),

who determined that novelty positively influenced

loyalty, that is, the intention to repeat.

Academic training influences the respondent’s

preferences differently, forming another type of

profile, as happens in Moral-Cuadra et al. (2022).

Thus, a higher educational level affects aspects such

as awakening scientific vocations, satisfying

curiosity or the interest in night walks. On the other

hand, lower academic training is related to less

motivation to discover new things and/or visit an

astronomical science park, which is associated with

the above. Finally, gender was not shown to be a

determining factor in any case, in the line of García-

García et al. (2023).

5. CONCLUSIONS

Astrotourism is configured as a new type of tourism

in which travellers seek rural destinations that allow

the contemplation of the stars and the sky. The model

achieved in this research allows to properly

determine the relationships between the activities,

motivations, economic and social benefits and

experiences of astrotourism regarding the socio-

demographic profile (gender, age, academic training

and income) of the astrotourist, being a pioneer in this

line.

Following the contributions made in the present

research, the most interesting profile for having a

higher level of income, and therefore the

development of astrotourism in the area has a more

significant economic impact, corresponds to an older

person who seeks an astrotourism of “classic” or

“traditional” type, avoiding guides and rejecting

walking routes and/or looking for something “new”

or “unique”. Additionally, it is essential to consider

that it seems to be a tourist profile prone to repeating

this type of activity and be aware that it is a helpful

type of tourism in the fight against depopulation.

Consequently, attracting an older and high-income-

level astrotourist can help transform rural areas into

sustainable tourism hubs committed to keeping the

population in their place of origin. However,

paradoxically, the higher income profiles do not

believe that astrotourism is helpful for the economic

and social development of the areas involved. This

research also presents two other important theoretical

contributions. The first is to present a literature

review on astrotourism that could be interesting for

future research. The second theoretical contribution

of this research focuses on designing a methodology

on ANN that can be replicated in another research.

The practical application of this work resides in

obtaining a model capable of making adjusted

estimates of profiles or “identikits” of astrotourists

based on their activities, motivations, opinions and

experiences. In this way, a collection of these

responses, easily customisable by the researcher as

input values, will give rise to a precise estimate of a

specific profile of tourists interested in astronomical

observation. Consequently, private companies and

public agencies dedicated to astrotourism can adapt

their offer more accurately to their potential client,

optimising the development of their activities.

Likewise, identifying the profile of potential visitors

to a destination would help companies that work in

that destination be able to design specific products for

them, reinforcing the economic contribution of this

type of tourism. For example, night tours with

activities may be aimed at people with a higher level

of education and younger age, and the development

of viewpoints and contemplation activities, which do

not require long walking trips, may attract people of

higher age and income. However, it would also be

necessary to orientate these destinations for the

reception of tourists. In this sense, it is essential to

Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening

Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16

https://doi.org/10.33776/et.v14i2.8287

adapt the infrastructure of the geographical area to

the demands of visitors and to reinforce the

specialisation of private companies to offer a quality

tourism product.

The main limitation of the paper derives from

the time it was carried out since it would be

convenient to extend the study covering the entire

year. Another limitation of the study is that it is based

solely on demand. As a line of future research, it is

proposed that the scope of the study be strengthened

by including the offer of specific destinations

specialised in astrotourism.

 
Solano-Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Aja-Valle, Jaime; Arteaga-Sánchez, Rocío; López-Guzmán, Tomás. Enlightening 
Tourism. A Pathmaking Journal, Vol 14, No 2 (2024), pp. 1-16 
 
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14 
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