A multi-agent model of traffic simulation around urban scenic spots: From the perspective of tourist behaviors

This paper proposes a multi-agent model to simulate the traffic around urban scenic spots within tourist cities, where a newly added tourist agent is involved. Due to the flexible nature of tour travel demand and the impact of the real-time information of mobile application on tourist behaviors, there is an interactive process between tourists' travel behaviors and traffic state around scenic spots. To validate the proposed model, a case study of the Yanwu Road section at the Qunxian Gate of Xiamen University is conducted. According to the proposed model, the influence of tourist behaviors on the traffic states can be obtained, specifically, the threshold of tourist flow that triggers changes in traffic states can be obtained. This valuable information empowers policymakers to strategically manage tourist flows and mitigate traffic congestion around scenic spots. This means that this research also provides a novel and innovative approach for traffic management demand.