Modelling tourism expenditure according to the activities developed in the destination

Abstract

[eng] Tourism expenditure is a meaningful variable that can be used to measure international tourism. It is a widely investigated issue in the tourism sector and a significant number of related papers analyse this topic. In this paper, I want to address the micro-econometric analysis of the tourism expenditure according to the different type of activities carried out in the destination, specifically in different regions of Spain. I analyse the total expenditure per trip at a micro level, using data that includes information on economic factors, trip characteristics and socio-demographic variables. The empirical part of this study employs a survey from Egatur of 31,814 tourists and visitors who visited in Spain during September 2015 (Turespaña). For the OLS regression model, I tested thirty-three variables including explanatory variables as economic variables, socio-demographic attributes, trip characteristics and psychological variables. From the results, we can confirm that tourist coming from non-European countries has more impact on the expenditure. Tourist practising sports activities and cultural activities spent more than those who not. The results can be useful for future policy recommendations and management of the destination. Finally, I identify the segment of tourists that are most beneficial to promote according to the activities to be developed in the destination.