Exploring Sentiment Analysis and Visitor Satisfaction along Urban Liner Trails: A Case of the Seoul Trail, South Korea

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The study takes into consideration the topic connected to urban routes, which allow for easily accessible physical activity for all users.

Extremely interesting topic since the benefits of an active lifestyle on the psychophysical health of the inhabitants are now known, even in scientific literature. In this study, the topic in question has been treated with originality.

The study is clearly organized, contains all components of a scientific article (introduction, materials and methods, results, discussions, and conclusions). Reading the article was interesting but the text needs to be integrated and revised in some points (listed below); in particular, the section relating to the methods must be deeply revised or otherwise systematized. A careful analysis and evaluation should also be placed in the section relating to the literature review (in my opinion this section, as elaborated by the authors, could be integrated into the introduction).

The baseline of the study is outlined. A simpler and more linear description is needed regarding the research objectives and research questions.

In my opinion, the method is part of the paper that needs more attention and should be completely revised and described in detail (as specified below).

The results section has been treated in a linear way by the authors, but for a better understanding of the results, a better description of the methods is needed.

 

Reading the paper was, in my opinion, quite interesting and could interest readers, even from different areas, because the subject lends itself to be explored across the board involving different disciplines.

The topic is topical but, in my opinion, the article needs major revision before publication.

 

In particular

1. Introduction

In the introductory part, some examples of trails in different countries (France, USA, Japan, etc.) are considered. There could be other equally interesting examples. I therefore ask the authors to kindly clarify the reason for selecting these trails, according to which criteria they were selected, etc.

Lines 59 to 63: In this part, do you already describe the work done in this study? So one of the objectives is to fill the gap? It would be useful to express the concept more clearly.

For greater clarity, it would be important to review the last part of the introductory section (from line 59 to line 71) and clearly identify the main purpose of the study, specific objectives, research questions, etc.

 

2.1 Literature review

2.1 Sustainable trail management

To consider this section exhaustive, perhaps I would include further bibliographical references. And there are many since it is a current and much studied topic. Otherwise, this section can be included in the introduction.

2.2. Trail characteristics and user behavior

This paragraph could also perhaps be included in the introductory part.

 

3. Methods

I believe the section relating to the method is one of the most important in a scientific article.

Theoretically, the methodology followed in the study should be replicable and therefore extremely clear, explained step by step.

What is reported from line 116 to line 132, in my opinion, is not exhaustive for understanding the method followed in the study.

 

4. Results

Paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2

The results are reported correctly, but not being supported by an adequate description in the methods section, they are difficult to comment on. In my opinion, it is extremely important to review the section relating to the description of the method followed in the study.

Paragraph 4.3

For example, the first lines of this paragraph (up to line 188), in my opinion, should be moved to the method section.

Also in this case, the results are adequately described in the paragraph, but they must be better described in the method.

For paragraph 4.4, the same considerations apply as for the previous paragraphs.

 

5. Discussions

I appreciated how this section was treated. Well written and well researched.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is an interesting article, in which an empirical investigation is done to assess how green activities are involved in sustainable land management and provide information for the surrounding communities. Many of the results and conclusions drawn from the data analysis in the article are logical and rather expected!

The main points where, I think, the article should be improved in order to be published in the journal, are the following:

• The review should include the other existing methodological approaches in the international literature and consider the quantitative assessment of the impacts of pathways or liner trails and more general urban green environmental variables on visitors’ satisfaction or human well-being. Existing methodologies should be compared with the methodology applied in the article, highlighting its advantages and justifying its choice.
• The results found after the analysis made in the article can be compared with the results of other similar researches. This comparison, if similar results are obtained, will strengthen the belief in the importance of the influence of urban environmental variables on visitors’ satisfaction or human well-being.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

There are few syntactic errors in the text that need to be corrected

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. Considering the widespread application of sentiment analysis and visitor satisfaction evaluation methods, the authors are advised to seek more innovative methods or improve existing ones to enhance the novelty and uniqueness of the research.

2. Although the study selected representative cases, it could further deepen the analysis of these cases by integrating specific data and instances to show how each case performs and is influenced by various factors, thereby strengthening the empirical analysis.

3. In the conclusions and recommendations section, the manuscript could more clearly articulate specific planning and management suggestions, proposing concrete improvement plans based on the research results to maximize trail vitality.

4. While the manuscript has made some explorations in terms of innovation and practicality, it could further highlight its value in academic research and practical application to increase the manuscript's attractiveness and impact.

In summary, the authors are encouraged to refine their choice of research methods and deepen their analysis to improve the manuscript's novelty and uniqueness, thereby enhancing its academic value and practical significance.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Interesting subject. But need mayor changes. Mainly associated with the use of quantitative approah. The mainstrean in this research area is qualitative. Need a clear justification. Need more references from geographical cultural studies. Besides need an analysis of the politics of pedestrian in Korea at different scales. The results are very descriptives. The text need changes in the use of words. Eg change sentiments for emotions or emotional.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Need improve

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I thank the authors for having revised and reworked the article. After the revisions I find the introductory part more fluid and clearer.

I believe that the authors have carried out an important revision in the method section which, in my opinion, was the most problematic, describing the various phases step by step. It is still quite complex but certainly clearer and more readable than the first version.

In my opinion the work is much more fluent and I find the presentation of the study much more interesting.

Author Response

We want to express our gratitude for the valuable input and recommendations provided by the reviewers regarding the initial version of our manuscript. 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Title 4.3. High satisfaction trail courses exists 2 times in the text

Author Response

We want to express our gratitude for the valuable input and recommendations provided by the reviewers regarding the initial version of our manuscript. In this report, we have compiled our detailed responses to all the comments (in colored text blue)

 

Reviewer: #2

Title 4.3. High satisfaction trail courses exists 2 times in the text

Response: Thank you for pointing out the repetition of the section title 4.3. in our paper. We appreciate your attention to the details. Based on your feedback, we have revised the title 4.4 Low satisfaction trail courses (Line 297). Also, we updated the title of Table 4 Higher satisfaction trail courses (Line 296).  to maintain consistency with Table 5 Lower satisfaction trail courses (Line 311).

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

NA

Author Response

We want to express our gratitude for the valuable input and recommendations provided by the reviewers regarding the initial version of our manuscript. 

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper need more referrnces from human geography an emotional geography. Fields withrelevant papers in the lasts years on the research subject of walking and pedesyrian routrs.

The paper need a critical approach to use number for evsluaye sentiments and emotions

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor changes in specific use of wotds

Author Response

We want to express our gratitude for the valuable input and recommendations provided by the reviewers regarding the initial version of our manuscript. In this report, we have compiled our detailed responses to all the comments (in colored text blue).

Reviewer: #4

The paper need more referrnces from human geography an emotional geography. Fields withrelevant papers in the lasts years on the research subject of walking and pedesyrian routrs. The paper need a critical approach to use number for evsluaye sentiments and emotions

Response: We appreciate the reviewer's suggestion to include additional references related to human and emotional geography. We perhaps agree that incorporating theories from human geography, particularly those related to community development in tourism and geo-spatial features, would further enhance the quality of this research. We would also like to ask for the reviewer's understanding that our study primarily focused on sentiment analysis based on big data reviews provided by visitors of the Dullegil trails. This particularly emphases their experiences rather than geographical factors of the urban trail. In the initial stage of our draft, we had an introduction to the Seoul Dullegil’s features; The Seoul Dullegil is a 157 km walking route divided into eight sections, connecting outer mountains, rivers, and village paths around Seoul. It offers experiences of Seoul’s culture, history, and natural ecology, featuring historic sites, temples, and local legends. The trail includes amenities like book cafes and rest areas, is accessible by public transport, and is positioned away from residential areas to minimize disruption. It is designed with gentle slopes and minimal stairs for accessibility and safety, using eco-friendly construction methods with native plants and local materials. Although this study did not primarily focus on the impact of geographical features of trail on visitor experience, we were able to reference several geography-related studies, such as citations [1, 25, 38, 74, 55, 56, 57, 58], to support our analysis. In addition, lines 68, 339, and 354 discuss the geographical characteristics of the Seoul Dullegil trails. The theoretical implications of our study address the urban environment, while the practical implications suggest various recreational as well as community well-being to enhance visitor engagement on linear tourism. Despite not initially considering geographic characteristics, with our interesting result, we discovered a pattern in our findings where the linear spatial features of the trails divided the results into northern and southern segments, which further expends from the findings of previous literature on Gao et al. (2021). As mentioned, the authors also believe that this research could be further advanced by integrating theories from human geography and employing additional research tools such as ArcGIS and navigation mobility. We acknowledge that doing so would require a different research design from the earlier stages of planning. Therefore, we emphasize that our study’s online review text mining and big data research methods are primarily based on visitor experiences.

References: 

Svensson, D., Sörlin, S., & Saltzman, K. Pathways to the trail–landscape, walking and heritage in a Scandinavian border region. J. Geo 2021, 75(5), 243-255.

Boers, B., & Cottrell, S. Sustainable tourism infrastructure planning: A GIS-supported approach. Tour Geogr, 2007, 9(1), 1-21.

Truchet, S., Piguet, V., Aubert, F., & Callois, J. M. Spatial influence of attractions on tourism development. Tour Geo, 2016, 18(5), 539-560

Keith, S. J., Larson, L. R., Shafer, C. S., Hallo, J. C., & Fernandez, M. Greenway use and preferences in diverse urban communities: Implications for trail design and management. Lands and Urb Plan, 2018, 172, 47-59.

Lu, J., & Schuett, M. A. Examining the role of voluntary associations in environmental management: the case of the Sam Houston National Forest. Envi Manag, 2012, 49, 334-346.

Li, M., Liu, R., Li, X., Zhang, S., & Wu, D. (2023). The effect of perceived real-scene environment of a river in a high-density urban area on emotions. Land, 2023, 13(1), 35.

Whiting, J. W., Larson, L. R., Green, G. T., & Kralowec, C. Outdoor recreation motivation and site preferences across diverse racial/ethnic groups: A case study of Georgia state parks. J. Out Rec and Tour, 2017, 18, 10-21.

Guagliardo, M. F. Spatial accessibility of primary care: concepts, methods and challenges. Int J. Health Geo, 2004, 3, 1-13.

- The main criteria involve geographical diversity, cultural significance, recognition, and the variety of terrain associated. Each country’s trail system embodies a unique mission that aligns with broader goals of promoting physical activity, cultural appreciation, and environmental stewardship globally. (line 68)

- This highlights the importance of geographical location and its impact on visitor experiences and perceptions. (line 339)

- Geographically, Seoul Dulle-gil’s course 3 intersects with the Songpa Trail, and feedback praised the quality of the signboard information. Course 3 demonstrated safety and guidance and positive evaluations highlighted the well-maintained stairs on hilly sections. (line 354)

Author Response File: Author Response.docx