On-site Expenditures Research Articles

Consumer Mobility, Online and On-site Commerce and the Geographic Concentration of Economic Activity: Evidence from 20 Billion Transactions

The geographical pattern of consumers’ expenditures, whether made on-site or online, has implications for the location of economic activity and regional economic development. Data limitations have however limited our knowledge of this aspect of consumer behaviour. This paper uses transaction data to investigate such geographical patterns, and the impact of online commerce on these and on inter-regional retail trade linkages between cities and regions. We build original mobility and inter-regional retail trade measures from nearly 20 billion domestic consumer transactions made through bank cards, in France 2018-19. We find evidence that online consumer expenditure are more heavily concentrated in the already-large regional economies, relative to on-site expenditure, which suggests that the increasing movement toward online purchasing tend to increase the concentration of overall economic activity, and may have important implications for regional economic development.

Post-socialism and “ordinary” tourism: New Belgrade

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the emerging practices of the “tourism of the ordinary” in the wider frame of post-socialist transformation of Serbia’s capital city – Belgrade. By sourcing the inspiration in cultural studies and classics of the studies of the ordinary, focus is directed to the patterns of tourism consumption of practices, places and people that do not fall in the category of tourism attraction. The attention is drawn to New Belgrade (Novi Beograd in Serbian), residential part of Belgrade built predominantly after the Second World War. New Belgrade lacks proper tourism infrastructure, commoditized attractions and consumerable tourism experiences on a large scale. Nevertheless, this part of the city is slowly becoming explored by tourists individually or in organized walking or cycling tours. Visits to New Belgrade are most often connected to alternative or hip visitors and have the allure of both urban exploration and cultural practice, as the tours are offered by specialist architectural organizations or individual guides. By introspecting the case of New Belgrade, this paper attempts to address the prospect that ordinary exist only in relation to the attraction and that its appeal comes from the fact that what is ordinary to someone is attraction to another.Design/methodology/approachAs far as specific approach is concerned, some archival and librarian materials have been analyzed in order to map the territory that is being researched (New Belgrade) and to frame the significance of potential heritagisation (Harrison, 2013) on the built environment and its territory. Further, relevant websites and both primary and secondary resources have been consulted. This mostly refers to the websites of Tourist Organization of Belgrade (TOB) and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Belgrade as two most relevant bodies connecting the urban fabric of the city and its tourism valorization.FindingsIn this paper, the authors have tried to demonstrate how tourism of the ordinary might be conducted in urban environment that lacks no tangible resources, whose physical physiognomies are not insignificant and which, in another, alternative tourism regime might be considered attractions. However, in the specific set of characteristics spanning from contested past to ambiguous contemporary valorization, New Belgrade remains an uncharted part of the city for much of the mainstream tourism, leaving its charms for very few visitors, most often engaged in interest of the “ordinary.”Originality/valueAlthough Belgrade is experiencing steady rise in numbers regarding tourist arrivals, length of stay and on-site expenditure, New Belgrade is nowhere to be seen on the map of tourism offer, as per Belgrade’s Tourism Organization. TOB’s official web page, at the time this piece is written, in the section Attractions, mentions nothing regarding New Belgrade. Among 13 entries – 12 are historic sites of more than a century behind them and one is a lake and outdoor destination.

Assessing the effects of the climatic satisfaction on nautical tourists' on-site activities and expenditure decisions

Abstract Climatic conditions may influence the way in which tourists undertake certain activities at destinations. This article proposes and empirically tests a structural equation model to measure the effects of climate perceived comfort on tourists' demand for nautical activities and expenditure decisions during the visit. Using data collected from 255 tourists visiting Cape Verde for maritime recreation, the study finds that satisfaction with weather conditions is the main determinant of the amount of nautical activities consumed by tourists during their visit to the destination. In addition, nautical activities are found to be a mediator of the impact of climate on tourists' satisfaction and on-site expenditure. The results suggest implications for tourism policy, highlighting the importance of the design of climate-oriented products and services for improving nautical tourism experience, foster technological innovation, and promote economic impact.

How feasible is coastal management? A social benefit analysis of a coastal destination in SW Spain

Very few assessments of the beach recreational experience value have been made in Spain. This is both surprising and discouraging considering the importance of sun-and-sand tourism to the country. The present study applies the Travel Cost Method (TCM) to assess the non-market user value of three Atlantic beaches in southern Spain. The results reveal that there are statistically significant differences in visitor type by season and by beach. Calculations show that the socioeconomic benefits generated by one hectare of any of the studied beaches during the high season are one order of magnitude greater than the average annual amount of capital invested in coastal management projects and actions. It is apparent that expenditure on management strategies for the beaches of Cadiz is justified. Policy-makers should recognise that the consumer surplus is an important component of economic value because it represents a measure of social benefits rather than on-site expenditures alone.

Determinants of Spending by Motorcycle Rally Visitors

The purpose of this study was to explore the determinants of festival spending by estimating expenditure models. This study analyzed the impact of sociodemographic and travel context factors on aggregated and disaggregated event expenditures by the visitors who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally held in Sturgis, South Dakota. The results indicated that length of stay and income had a significantly positive effect on the total on-site expenditures and accommodation spending. Length of stay and past experience (among travel context variables) as well as age, income, and gender (among sociodemographic factors) had significant relationships with the on-site expenditure categories. Detailed discussions and implications were provided, and study limitations and recommendations for future studies were discussed.

Relationship between Price Sensitivity and Expenditures in the Choice of Tourism Activities at the Destination

The analysis of the drivers of expenditures is an important topic that has been studied in the literature; however, the effect of individual price sensitivities to tourism activities on on-site expenditures has received no attention. Price sensitivity is an internal characteristic of the individual related to an external, very influential variable (price), and expenditures on tourism activities represent direct income for the destination. On this account, the objective of this study is to analyse the effect of individual price sensitivity on tourists' expenditures tourists on vacation activities. The operative formalization follows a mixed logit model to estimate individual sensitivities to price, and then a regression analysis to detect their effect on expenditures. The empirical application finds that price sensitivity has a non-linear quadratic influence on holiday expenditures. The managerial implications are also outlined.

The impact of changes in household vacation expenditures on the travel and hospitality industries

Two large tourism industries, travel and hospitality, are strongly affected by changes in household demand for vacations. In recent years, rising income and declining prices per unit of quality have led to changes in patterns of household vacation consumption. To understand the impact of these changes on the travel and hospitality industries, we develop a theoretical model distinguishing between travel and on-site expenditures and apply it to Israeli data. We find that under certain circumstances, the changes in income and prices are responsible for a shift toward multiple, short vacations. This trend can be a boon to the travel industry but a disadvantage for the hospitality industry. Both industries are expected to face a rise in the demand for high-quality products.

Hedonic Onsight Cost Model of Recreation Demand

<i>For many recreational activities onsite pecuniary costs can be a significant portion of the cost of a recreational trip. Onsite expenditures, however, often depend upon endogenous quality choices made by the household. We formulate a recreation demand model that formally accounts for household selection of quality of onsite time. Household behavior is constrained by income, prices, and the onsite hedonic price schedule. Assuming complete optimization, a reduced form Marshallian demand curve for recreation trips still results and a specialized version of Roy’s Identity provides a basis for welfare analysis. Instrumenting for endogenous quality choices does not improve demand estimation.</i> (JEL Q26, Q51)

Motivations of equestrian tourists: an analysis of the colonial cup races

While the motivations of visitors to mainstream professional sporting events have been well documented, comparatively little is known about equestrian tourists. The purpose of this study was to assess the fan motivations, sport identification and expenditures of tourists attending an annual steeplechase. The event chosen for this study was the 31st Annual Colonial Cup Races, held in South Carolina, USA. Wann and Branscombe's (1990) team identification and Wann's (1995) sport fan motivation scales were adapted for use in this study. Responses from 222 equestrian tourists were used to answer four research questions. Regardless of respondent sex, equestrian tourists were most likely to be motivated by entertainment and group affiliation needs and least likely to be motivated by escape and self-esteem needs. However, comparisons based on identification level (low, medium, high) resulted in significant differences in four of the seven motivations and on-site expenditures. Further, there was a significant positive relationship between identification level and six of the seven motives tested as well as on-site expenditures. Sport identification may prove to offer useful insight into motivations and expenditures within an equestrian context. Marketing efforts for equestrian events can be adapted to promote identification and reflect the motivations that are descriptive of this tourism niche.

Estimating potential impacts of a change in river quality on the tourism value of Kruger National Park : an application of travel cost, contingent, and conjoint valuation methods

Development and resource allocation decision processes are increasingly under pressure to take environmental values into account in order to reach optimal economic outcomes. In South Africa new techniques will be needed to incorporate environmental values into environmental impact assessment and in the allocation of water resources under the new National Water Act (1998), both of which require the comparison of alternative scenarios with varying impacts on the environment. This study on the tourism value of rivers in the Crocodile Catchment is the first case study to develop methods for incorporating the economic values of the goods and services provided by functioning aquatic ecosystems into such decision processes. Rivers within the Kruger National Park (KNP) will be affected by water usage in the portions of their catchment areas upstream of the park boundary. The current tourism value of these rivers was considered in terms of revenues to KNP (visitors' on-site expenditure), contribution to the economy (visitors' on-site and off-site expenditure) and recreational value, including consumers' surplus. The effect of a change in river quality was determined using a joint contingent valuation - conjoint valuation approach, whereby respondents rated four different scenarios, each containing four attributes at four different levels. It was estimated that the current value of KNP tourism is about R136 m. in terms of on-site expenditure, R267 m. in terms of economic impact, or all expenditure related to visiting the park, and R1 bn. in terms of consumers' surplus. The latter two values can be added to calculate total recreational value. Four methods were used to isolate the value of rivers from the total tourism value stated above, and all yielded similar values of about 30% of the total. This implies that about 30% of tourism business would be lost if rivers were totally degraded. Thus, rivers within the Crocodile Catchment, which takes 22% of KNP visitor-nights, contribute R9 m. to KNP revenues and have a total annual recreational use value of about R85 m., including off-site expenditure and consumers' surplus. The conjoint analysis generated an equation which is able to predict the change in trip expenditure, or total KNP revenue, associated with changes in levels of any of the four attributes considered. Appearance of the riverscape has the greatest influence on recreational use value, followed by waterbird diversity, aquatic megafauna and riparian tree density. Such models can be used in water allocation decision processes when attribute levels associated with alternative management scenarios are predicted by aquatic ecologists. WaterSA Vol.27(3) 2001: 387-398

A Travel Cost Demand Model for Recreational Snapper Angling in Port Phillip Bay, Australia

A travel cost demand model was estimated for recreational angling for snapper Pagrus auratus in Port Phillip Bay based on an on-site expenditure survey conducted during the 1996–1997 season. The model explaining angling trip frequency was initially based on exploratory analysis and Fisher tests on variables including trip-specific expenditure and nonexpenditure factors. A final preferred Poisson count model was then estimated and used to calculate the annual angler surplus (Aus$7,100 per boat party) and the total benefits to the angling population ($128,000,000). The recreational and commercial sectors of the Port Phillip Bay snapper fishery are neither monitored by the same statistics nor valuated by the same methods. Considerable socioeconomic research is needed to calibrate the sectors in support of equitable harvest allocations.

Some Issues Concerning Specification and Interpretation of Outdoor Recreation Demand Models

Some currently popular procedures for analyzing the demand for outdoor recreation makes use of ancillary travel and on-site expenditures of recreationists as proxy prices. It can yet regrettably be asked whether the estimates produced by those methods bear any resemblance to the market-equivalent price-quantity relationships they generally purport to quantify. To some unavoidable extent this results from the necessary reliance upon proxies, or surrogates, for both quantity and price data. The ultimate value of proxy variables and of estimated relationships between them lies in the extent to which they resemble useful concepts. Past research has been based largely on assumptions of the resemblance.