Determinants of Outbound Holiday Travel for Barbados

Abstract

Over the years in Barbados, the focus of tourism research has been on inbound tourism. No previous study appears to have addressed the issue of outbound holiday travel by Barbadians. Like inbound holiday travel, outbound holiday travel is seen as a form of relaxation. In addition, it allows Barbadians to visit family and friends that they may not have seen for decades, to witness cultural events, and to purchase goods that are cheaper than at home or that may not be available in the home country. Outbound holiday travel by Barbadians helps to maintain and increase employment in businesses such as travel agencies and airline companies, thereby helping to boost government's tax intake and fiscal position. The article reviews some literature on the subject matter, looks at trends in outbound holiday travel by Barbadians, and, using the Engle Granger two-step method, attempts to identify variables that will impact on this dependent variable over the long and short run. The results show that real per capita income, the real exchange rate, the price of tourism, and personal commercial bank credit affect outbound holiday travel in the long run while all the above-mentioned explanatory variables with the exception of personal commercial bank credit impact upon outbound holiday travel in the short term.