Tourism in Galicia: Domestic and Foreign Demand

Abstract

This paper analyses the main determinants of the demand for tourism in Galicia and quantifies their incidence. The author elaborates two models depending on the origin (domestic or foreign) of the tourists. For domestic demand, a panel of annual data on the 17 regions of origin of tourists during 1999–2006 is used. For international demand, another annual panel is used, comprising data on 24 countries of origin of tourists for the same period. The estimated elasticities suggest that both domestic and foreign tourism in Galicia are very sensitive to income in the origin markets and to prices. Other findings are the dependence of domestic tourism on its own past and the sensitivity of tourism to the celebration of the Holy Year. The results may be of use to professionals and policymakers in their decision-making processes.