Although existing software (e.g., Excel, PowerPoint) supports the creation of visuals, charts, and graphs, default templates might not necessarily be adequate to develop informative visuals to analyze tourism data. Visual Designers and researchers (e.g., Robbins, 2013; Tufte, 2001) have recommended different methods to create compelling and informative graphics. Here I present some nuts and bolts about (a) choosing the right type of visual and (b) avoiding common mistakes that might affect the communication of data. These skills would come handy in your current and/or future work. Have fun learning!

Choosing the Right Visuals

Bar/column charts are often used to compare specific values in one variable. In other words, bar charts allow visual comparison between categories of data (e.g., columns). For example, Figure 1 compares hotel industry revenue in five different markets.

Bar Graph

Figure 1. Hotel Revenue across Markets (2019)

Best practices for bar charts:

Order bars from largest to smallest to facilitate comparisons.
Do not add data labels on columns, instead, add horizontal lines to depict column values
Avoid using dark backgrounds and outlines in the chart
For charts with many categories (e.g., more than 7), you can opt for horizontal bar charts instead of vertical bar charts.

Pie charts are recommended to represent simple shares of totals. Pie charts should be used to represent numbers in percentages and to visualize the part-whole relationship. Pie charts should not be used to compare individual values (See Figure 2).

Pie Chart Figure 2. Hotel Demand in US Key Markets

Best practices for bar charts:

Make sure the sum of the parts always equals 100%.
Pie charts enable easier comparison with a small number of categories (1-7 categories). Add only category name/percentage labels and position them outside the pie chart to avoid indirect look-up. Do not show exact values

Line graphs are useful for data that are continuous or collected over periods (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly). Line charts frequently called "timeline" or “time-series" charts. Line charts are also suitable for a dataset with many data points, facilitating trend analysis and comparisons between large numbers of data points (See figure 3).

Line Graph Figure 3. Occupancy Rates Across Markets (2019)

Best practice for line graphs:

Intervals of the X-axis should be equal
Time should always run from left to right
Use different colors/types of lines to compare between several categories (e.g., markets, products, countries, etc.).

For more information about choosing a graph, you can download the following Chart. https://extremepresentation.typepad.com/files/chart-chooser-2020.pdf and read the references listed below.

References

Tufte, E.R. (2001). The visual display of quantitative information. Cheschire, CT: Graphic Press.

Robbins, N. B. (2005). Creating more effective graphs. Wiley-Interscience.