Tourism participation and expenditure behaviour: Analysis using a scobit based discrete–continuous choice model

Abstract

Using a new type of discrete–continuous choice model, this paper simultaneously models two interrelated tourist choices, namely, tourism participation and tourism expenditure. For the analysis, we employ a scobit model, which includes a skewness parameter to relax the assumption that sensitivity to changes in the explanatory variables is highest among individuals with indifferent preferences concerning participation and non-participation in tourism. We undertake the empirical analysis using data collected in Japan. The results confirm the interdependency between tourism participation and tourism expenditure and that the scobit model is superior to the logit model in modelling these tourism-related decisions. We also discuss the main factors influencing both tourism participation and expenditure.