Competition among destinations in spatial interaction models: a new point of view

This paper presents a new perspective on the nature of destination competition in spatial interaction models. The concept of destinations competing with one another on the basis of their spatial proximity to each other is compared with an alternative point of view which argues that competition takes place on the basis of similarities in the spatial influences of competing destinations on decision makers at origins. Potential movers at an origin are facing a set of destinations which compete for their attention. This paper argues that the movers' choices are conditioned by the relative size and number of influences they see (where influence is directly proportional to destination size and inversely proportional to distance). A small amount of supporting empirical evidence concerning recreational day trips, and population migration, is presented.