Potential of mobile big data for visitor monitoring : Report of the MOBICON workshop held in Helsinki 28.9.2023
Authors: Toivonen Tuuli , Brias Guinart Aina , Eklund Johanna , Matti Hästbacka , Tatu Leppämäki , Jussi Torkko 
Published: March 2024

The Changes in Nature Visitation and the Potential of Mobile Big Data for Visitor Monitoring workshop was held in Helsinki on 28.9.2023. We organized the workshop as part of the five-year MOBICON research project (Mobile Big Data for Understanding People in Nature - Detecting short- and long-term changes and their implications for biodiversity conservation) funded by Kone Foundation. The aim of the workshop was to collect expert opinions related to the changes in the recreational use of nature, the monitoring needs related to the changing visitations, and to discuss the possibilities of various new data sources to meet managerial information needs. Eight experts from different organisations (Metsähallitus, City of Helsinki, Uusimaa Recreation Area Association Uuvi and Suomen Latu r.y.) participated in the event. Prior to the workshop, the participants had answered a survey about their experiences and information needs related to the changing visitations. The discussion progressed from the results of the survey to more in-depth discussions. Below we summarize the key results from the discussions. The recreational use of nature was seen to be changing. Recreational use is increasing and its temporal rhythms are changing. At the same time, the visitor base becomes more diverse because of the general diversification of society and the fact that new user-groups have started to explore nature. Activities and ways of being in nature are also diversifying. Approaching the changes through four megatrends (social, environmental, political and technological changes). The social and environmental drivers of change were seen as the most important. social changes were identified to be related to the ageing of the population and the diversification of nature visitors. Climate change, as an environmental factor, was identified as the most important driver of change, impacting both nature but also human behaviour. Among the political drivers of change, particularly the increasing polarisation of society emerged in the discussion. In addition, political decisions relating to everyone's rights, biodiversity protection and resources directed for the management of recreational areas were seen as important. Technological changes were identified as important and this change taking place as part of the broader technologization of society. On the one hand, this general technologization increases the opportunities for access to and sharing of information. On the other hand, the increased ‘measurement culture’ also affects the amounts of recreational use, as people are aiming to reach their kilometer or step targets. The information needs of organisations were recognized to include 1) planning of management actions, 2) justifying one's own activities for securing funding and 3) informing visitors. Information is needed on visitor flows and their spatial and temporal distribution. In addition, information about the visitors themselves was considered necessary, especially as the visitor base is becoming more diverse. The workshop participants also expressed concern about those who do not visit recreational areas: how get more information about them and the factors that limit nature visits. Collecting visitor data was seen as expensive and time-consuming, which is why finding new kinds of data sources has potential. Mobile data was evaluated as an interesting source of information and its various aspects were discussed through a SWOT analysis. However, it was clear that in operational use, information must be reliable and easily accessible and some doubts were raised on the potential of mobile big data from this aspect. The event was organised by Aina Brias Guinart, Matti Hästbacka, Tatu Leppämäki, Jussi Torkko and Tuuli Toivonen. Johanna Eklund participated in the workshop from maternity leave. More information about the event or research can be found on the project's website or by e-mail to the project's researchers: mobicon-project@helsinki.fi. The MOBICON project will operate from 2022 to 2026 and it is funded by Kone Foundation. Website: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/digital-geography-lab/projects/mobicon.