Walking patterns of cruise passengers in a Mediterranean city: initial evidence from a GPS tracking experiment in Barcelona

Keywords: Tourism, cruises, tracking, built environment, active mobility, public space, walkability
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Before COVID-19, cruise tourism had been rapidly increasing worldwide, and it is expected to soon reach, or even exceed, pre-pandemic levels. Cruise passengers’ visits, especially those in transit, are generally characterized by a short duration (less than a day) and by an intense concentration of pedestrian activity around key points of interest. Accordingly, there is a growing debate around the increasing pressure that the mobility of cruise passengers may have in central urban destinations already facing issues of overcrowding. In this study we aim to provide evidence of the spatiotemporal walking patterns of transit cruise passengers in a Mediterranean urban context, characterized by being densely populated, with a compact and often intricate urban form, and with an intense use of public space by both residents and visitors. We collected GPS data from a sample of over 850 transit cruise passengers in Barcelona (Spain) between July and October 2022. GPS tracking data was complemented with a post-visit questionnaire about cruise passengers’ socioeconomic characteristics, recollection of their activities, and perceptions of their visit. Cruise passengers’ visits to the city were highly reliant on walking activity (with almost 70% of participants reporting having walked over 2h, and 43% over 3h). Visits generally consisted of either pre-planned, fast-paced, outdoor visits to key points of interest, or random and relaxed strolls in walkable neighborhoods such as the Old City. Additional results will be presented regarding cruise passengers walking behavior in the city and its relationship with the built environment, stratified by their socioeconomic characteristics.