Resident–Tourist Differences in Waterfront Recreation During a Peak Summer Week in Hangzhou: An Analytical Framework of Spatiotemporal Behavior and Flow Networks

Urban waterfronts serve as important recreational spaces for both residents and tourists. However, differences between these groups in recreational behavior and environmental influences remain insufficiently understood. Using mobile phone signaling data from 16–22 July 2021, this study compares resident and tourist waterfront visitation in central Hangzhou during a summer peak-season week. The “behavior–structure–correlates” framework combines spatiotemporal analysis, social network analysis, K-means clustering, and Geodetector. Residents accounted for 81.10% of all recorded waterfront visits, but the resident–tourist composition varied across waterfront systems: tourists contributed 37.95% of visits to West Lake, compared with 17.80% to the Grand Canal and 9.53% to the Qiantang River. Residents showed proximity-oriented and relatively dispersed visitation patterns, whereas tourists concentrated around iconic attractions. The resident recreation flow network was denser than the tourist network, with densities of 0.43 and 0.20, respectively. Core waterfront units function as both major attractions and intermediary nodes, while key paths demonstrate the guiding role of major transport corridors. Metro station availability showed the highest explanatory power for resident visitation (q = 0.226), while surrounding accommodation density ranked highest for tourist visitation (q = 0.307). Interaction analysis further highlighted combinations of waterfront resources and public transport for residents, and urban functional diversity and metro availability for tourists. By linking group-specific behaviors, spatial structures, and environmental correlates, the framework provides empirical support for matching differentiated recreational demands, implementing service-type-based waterfront management, and improving waterfront service efficiency in tourist cities.