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Spending and impact Manuscript

How cruise visitors move and spend in Valencia

In this sample, reported spending averaged about €36 per person and tended to be higher among those visiting the city independently and staying longer ashore.

Expanding our understanding of cruise visitors’ expenditure at destinations: The role of spatial patterns, onshore visit choice and cruise category — Casado-Díaz, A. B.; Navarro-Ruiz, S.; Nicolau, J. L. et al. · Tourism Management, 83, 104199

WhereValencia
Year2021
SourceTourism Management, 83, 104199
Strength of methodHigh

Note on the source. This source should be read with caution: it may be funded by the sector, a draft or a thesis, or rely on self-reported or modelled data. See the limitations below.

The question

Do the way cruise passengers move around the city (a single area, several areas, the hinterland), the choice between an independent or guided visit, and the ship category influence spending ashore, and do they do so differently for low and high spenders?

The method

Questionnaires before and after the visit and GPS loggers (position every 15 seconds) at the Port of Valencia, April-June 2018; for guided visitors the GPS was carried by the guide. 627 respondents, 487 valid (only those who spent money). Quantile regression on per capita spending (excluding the tour price and transport paid to the cruise line) and cluster analysis.

What the study finds

487 peoplein the usable sample (of 627)627 cruise visitors took part; after checks (both questionnaires completed, non-zero spending, GPS tracks without anomalous jumps) the usable sample is 487 people.
≈ €36average reported city spending per personAmong respondents who spent something, reported spending in the city averaged about €36 per person, similar to comparable studies, for a stay ashore of almost five hours.
52.5%of respondents staying in a single areaAccording to the GPS tracks, 52.5% of respondents stayed in a single area of the city, 45% visited several and only 2.5% left the city for the hinterland.
37.2%of respondents in the historic centre onlyThe historic centre is the most visited single area (37.2% of respondents). Those who focus on one area spend more than those who visit several, but the difference is significant only in the middle and upper-middle spending ranges.
  • Independent visitors spend more than those on guided tours, but the gap is significant only up to the median spending level; among the highest spenders the two groups behave similarly.
  • In the cluster analysis, the lowest-spending segment (about €18 per head) stays ashore under three hours and almost always in one area; the two highest-spending segments are mostly independent visitors who stay longer (6-7 hours) and visit several areas.
  • Among ship categories, only 'luxury' is associated with higher spending than the standard category; 'premium' and 'exclusive' show no significant difference.
Why it matters for ports and cities

For a port city the study suggests that cruise visitors' spending is linked to time ashore, the choice to visit independently and the kind of route taken in the city, while ship category has no clear effect. The authors propose creating new experiences in other areas and rethinking cruise passenger transport stops, to redistribute flows now concentrated in the historic centre.

Limitations

A single port and a single season; spending is self-reported and limited to those who spent money; for guided visitors the route is assumed to match the guide's; the classification into areas depends on the boundaries chosen.

Full reference and source

Casado-Díaz, A. B., Navarro-Ruiz, S., Nicolau, J. L., Ivars-Baidal, J. (2021). Expanding our understanding of cruise visitors’ expenditure at destinations: The role of spatial patterns, onshore visit choice and cruise category. Tourism Management, 83, 104199.

Read the original study ↗

Summary written by the ODYBOAT Observatory in our own words. Tables and figures belong to the authors.