Urban walking: Perspectives of locals and tourists

Abstract

Urban planners and architects have done extensive research on walkability: what it means and how it correlates with urban design and quality of life of the locals, however, it has been hitherto neglected from the aspect of tourism studies. Many cities worldwide are or tend to be walkable as this leads to more sustainable and prosperous communities. In addition, walking-friendly environments greatly cater for leisure and tourism, as in many cities, walking is an integral part of tourist experience. Therefore, tourism industry can be of tremendous help for the city authorities in understanding walkers' needs and experiences.Taking into account both the locals and tourists, this research sought to: (1) determine the most frequently utilised modes of transportation in Novi Sad in Serbia and Koper in Slovenia; (2) assess thier reasons for walking and perception of the quality of pedestrian infrastructure; and (3) evaluate the psychometric properties of the questionnaire designed for the purpose of this study.The results show that the great majority of respondents walk in these two cities. The locals walk primarily to achieve physical fitness, whereas tourists walk primarily to explore the urban spaces. This makes more space for tourism as it combines a competitive supply able to meet visitors' expectations with a positive contribution to the sustainable development of cities and well-being of their residents. Furthermore, this study contributes to emphasising walking as a sustainable form of mobility in urban environment and can be the impetus for profiling Novi Sad and Koper as walking-friendly cities.

Walking Tourist: Review of Research to Date

“…However, even though these variables were described as providing a positive influence on tourists, the study was conducted using "virtual tourists," i.e., university students from the authors' university. Farkic ́et al (2015) conducted a preliminary questionnairebased survey in two cities in Israel using locals as well as tourists to understand first what form of transport the participants used to explore the city. If they walked, then their walking experience, satisfaction, attachment to the places, and other related issues were surveyed.…”

Walkability research: concept, methods and a critical review of post-socialist studies

“…Porębska et al 2019 andSun et al 2020a). In some cases, the subject of the cooperation is the comparison of the results from two different cities or countries, such as the Czechia and Poland , Faro and Tartu (Silva et al 2018) as well as Novi Sad and Koper (Farkić et al 2015). Other examples are comparative studies of cities located in the same countries, however, without foreign scientists involved.…”

Questioning Walking Tourism from a Phenomenological Perspective: Epistemological and Methodological Innovations

“…However, walking is also one of the most common mobility practices in the context of tourism (Ram and Hall 2018). For example, assuming an able-bodied position, tourist destinations can be readily explored by walking, strolling around, and experiencing places with all senses involved, in turn facilitating spatial engagement (Farkic et al 2015;Hannam 2008).…”