Visitors

Visitors are people who travel to a place or institution other than their own home, typically for recreation, business, study, or personal reasons. The term covers both short-term arrivals and longer stays and is used across many sectors, including tourism, hospitality, healthcare, education, cultural institutions, and events. In physical settings, visitor management involves welcoming, registering, monitoring access, and providing information and services while maintaining safety and security.

In museums, galleries, parks, and attractions, visitor statistics track attendance, peak periods, and demographic trends to inform staffing, programming, and budgeting. In healthcare facilities, visitors support patient well-being but are subject to policies that regulate visiting hours, infection control, and privacy. In education and research, visitors may participate in programs or collaborate on projects under supervision. In the digital realm, 'visitors' refers to users who arrive at a website or app; analytics distinguish total visits, unique visitors, and session duration, with attention to privacy regulations.

The concept of visitors also intersects with social and economic considerations such as tourism's contributions to local economies, cultural exchange, and sometimes overtourism or resource strain. Visitor studies as an academic field examine how people perceive, interpret, and interact with spaces and interfaces, informing design, accessibility, and interpretation.

Besides its generic use, 'Visitors' is a common title for films, books, and art projects that explore arrival, observation, or disruption.