Tourist sketch maps of Kaikoura: Iconic, affective and experiential representations

Abstract

Ever since Lynch ( 1960) the sketch map technique has been used to investigate human cognitive maps. Cognitive maps are usually conceptualised as multidimensional and multi-sensory mental representations of space. Traditionally, however, the sketch map has been analysed only in terms of its strictly spatial dimensions as a means of understanding spatio-physical orientation. Its ability to represent such spatial dimensions has been criticised on grounds such as its reliance on 'artistic ' drawing abilities. Other methods such as varieties of distance estimation techniques have therefore become increasingly preferred as a means of identifying and understanding spatial cognitions. This paper argues for the continued usefulness of the sketch map technique, especially as applied to tourists/visitors in new environments. Aspects of sketch maps which are often ignored such as iconic representations, text messages, self-referent drawings embedded in maps and general pictorial elements are discussed. It is noted that such aspects can be usefully analysed to understand the often neglected affective and experiential features of visitors' cognitive (mental) maps. This analysis, it is claimed, is particularly relevant to the tourist setting since pre-arrival images and on-site experiences are themselves multidimensional. It is this multidimensional nature of the experience, it is argued, that is central to understanding tourist/visitor behaviours at tourist localities.