Modeling Private and Business Travelers in an Agent-Based Travel Demand Model

Worldwide travel and tourism are becoming increasingly important, and travelers have hence an increasing influence on traffic volume in cities. Therefore, it is important to incorporate them in future transport planning activities and to consider them in travel demand modeling. Until now, there has been no suitable model that differentiates between travelers and inhabitants and considers the different travel behavior of these two groups. This paper presents a framework that includes different types of travelers (business/private, overnight/same day) in a microscopic travel demand model. The application of the model to the planning area of Hamburg provides evidence that tourists are responsible for about 7% of Hamburg’s traffic volume. A more detailed analysis, however, reveals differences (e.g., in the number of trips, mode choice and trip length) for all different traveler types and compared to inhabitants. Overall, the results obtained enhance knowledge and are hence beneficial for planning authorities.