The Spatial Footprint of Large-Scale Urban Events: A Big Data Approach

Mega-events, such as sports events, concerts, and religious gatherings, have a remarkable influence on tourism in urban destinations. Their impact transcends economic, ecological, and social dimensions and extends to spatial impacts by affecting visitor distribution and the way people move through cities. Digital and nondigital methods can be employed to measure event visitors. This study investigates the spatial footprint of the 2022 edition of Kiel Week, which is one of the largest sailing events globally. We investigate the impact on visitor numbers across various spatial and temporal dimensions in the urban environment before, during, and after the event. This is achieved by analyzing passive mobile location data from smartphones and comparing them with data from Wi-Fi sensors and pass-through laser sensors. We find that while Kiel Week attracts a significant number of people, its spatial impact is concentrated within a very limited area of the city.