Visitor Spending Research Articles

Visitor spending at wine festivals: perspectives on stakeholder benefits

Economic benefit is a motivator for communities and wineries to participate in events (Byrd et al., 2016; Kim et al., 2008). Two primary stakeholders have a vested interest in the success of wine f...

Economic Impacts of Local Park Visitor Spending on Local Communities: A Case of Mississippi Parks

Local parks serve not only as recreational venues but are often an engine of communities’ economic development. Economic impact analyses provide tangible estimates of economic interdependencies and a better understanding of who benefits from and pays for tourism. Accordingly, this study quantified the economic impacts of visitor expenditures at local parks in Mississippi operated by the Pat Harrison Waterway District (PHWD). Both intercept and online survey methods were employed to collect visitor data from eight parks, and the data were analyzed with the IMPLAN software package to determine economic impacts attributable to visitor spending. On average, per visitor spending at the PHWD parks was $126.28. Visitors’ total local purchasing in the PHWD areas was estimated to be approximately $5.1 million annually. Visitor spending in the PHWD areas was expected to generate: $4.4 million of output, representing revenue plus certain taxes; 68.48 jobs with $1.4 million of labor income; $2.9 million of value added to the gross regional product. The results indicated that visitor expenditures are a significant economic stimulus in a region. In particular, the dollars spent on recreational equipment and supplies, followed by campgrounds and groceries, provided a strong boost to the local economy. The implications of the study are also addressed on the basis of the results.

An Exploratory Analysis of Visitor Spending at a Cultural Event in Eswatini

Tourism is seen as a crucial part of the economy of eSwatini. eSwatini now focuses on marketing itself as a cultural tourism destination where tourists are able to experience ancient Swazi ceremonies such as the Umhlanga (Reed Dance) ceremony. Research into traditional rural, cultural events such as the Umhlanga ceremony has not received significant attention. This study presents an exploratory spending profile of visitors to the Umhlanga ceremony. A quantitative research method was utilised for the study. Data was analysed to determine general spending by event visitors on spending associated with the event. Lastly, data was analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) comparisons with Tukey's multiple comparisons and t-tests in order to determine if there were any significant associations between the demographic variables and the spending patterns. Findings indicated that place of residence, employment status, level of education, age, travel party size, local residential location, gender, transportation and number of visits had a significant influence on the average expenditure within the destination. This was the first study of its kind on a cultural event in eSwatini and it provides an insight into the complex nature of such events which may assist event stakeholders in enhancing the sustainability of these types of events in future.

Drive by My Cellar Door: Rethinking the Benefits of Wine Tourism in Niagara

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of various marketing activities on retail winery spending in a wine tourism region. Data from a survey of 282 visitors to three Niagara boutique wineries are analyzed using principal component analysis to identify marketing drivers of winery sales, and regression analysis to measure the influence of marketing activities, demographics, and personal experience. The results illustrate the relative influence of in-region, web-based, and indirect marketing, suggesting that web-based marketing is most effective in driving sales, whereas visitors influenced by in-region tourism marketing spend less. This finding suggests that while wine tourism may drive traffic, it may not drive sales. The results provide direction for boutique winery operators and regional associations to plan marketing activities more effectively. Exploring the relationships between marketing and visitor spending by using multiple drivers in one study sheds new light on the benefits of wine tourism for boutique operators.

The relationship between visitor satisfaction, expectation and spending in a sport event

There are many studies on the determinants of visitor spending at sport events. However, few studies investigate the effect of satisfaction on spending and even fewer relate this to visitor expectations. The present study examines the case of the World Ski Championships 2015 which were held in Falun, Sweden. A particular focus of the study is if and how visitor satisfaction influences visitors’ expenditures. It is hypothesized and argued that spending depends on satisfaction relative to prior expectations. It is empirically found that those visitors with satisfaction greater than their expectations prior to the visit spend significantly more. A limitation of this study, however, is that the satisfaction is not measured systematically taking into consideration several dimensions of satisfaction which should be addressed in the future research.

Leisure Trips to the Natural Environment: Examining the Tradeoff between Economic and Environmental Impact

This study examines the economic impact (measured by visitor spending) and environmental impact (measured by carbon footprint) of leisure trips to the natural environment. It also investigates the tradeoff between them. This research uses survey data from England comprising information about randomly selected leisure trips to the natural environment (n = 15,535; 2012-2016). On average, each trip involves visitor spending of GBP 8.57 and a carbon footprint of 4.15 kg of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions. The results of seemingly unrelated regression analysis and bivariate probit analysis show that trips involving eating, water activities, visiting attractions and the beach yield more expenditure, but also a higher carbon footprint. On the contrary, trips involving walking, land activities, and playing with children generate a lower carbon footprint, but also less visitor spending. These results and the significant correlation of residuals suggests that economic impact occurs at the expense of the natural environment.

The Economic Contribution of Solo Sekaten Festival by Means of Tourist Spending

This quantitative research This research aimed to investigate whether tourist spending of Sekatenfestival has its economic contribution to local area. Two hundred thirty-four questionnaires on visitor profile, trip characteristics, visitor experience, also trip segments and spending, were distributed to and collected from Sekaten visitors. This study concludes that Sekaten has economic contribution to the economy of Solo through visitor spending. Visitor spending especially for shoping, food and baverage and lodging. Important findings are that the spending of visitor overnight trips is greater than day trips.

A latent class segmentation analysis of gamblers in a gambling destination

Abstract Gambling plays an important role in attracting tourists to destinations and significantly contributes to local economies through the generation of salaries and employment supported by visitor spending. Perceptions of value associated with the gambling experience, the gambling facility and the destination, along with the overall level of satisfaction with the visit and willingness to return, represent important categories of consumer information that must be obtained by marketing professionals to maximize opportunities for success in the highly competitive marketing environment. An exhaustive literature review confirmed few studies have investigated perceived value in a satisfaction-intention relationship framework involving visitor segmentation research. Data obtained from 409 gamblers were employed to segment consumers into four mutually exclusive groups based upon their perceived values, satisfaction, and likelihood of returning. Findings offer unique opportunities for gambling destination marketers to identify plausible target audiences and develop differentiated consumer relationship strategies based upon specific segments.

Understanding the determinants of festival attendee spending: the role of cultural capital

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore which factors determine visitor spending at a cultural festival, focusing particularly on cultural capital variables.Design/methodology/approachThe case study is the Valdivia International Film Festival. Data from a survey conducted amongst a representative sample of attendees at the festival is used and ordinary least square (OLS) and Tobit regression models are applied.FindingsSix of the variables included from the model prove statistically significant: gender, age, place of residence, participation in other activities at the festival, and “leisure and sharing” motivation.Practical implicationsFestival organisers should draw up a programme and prepare activities that are balanced so as to attract local film lovers, but that should also appeal to outside visitors, who would see the festival as an opportunity to enjoy a wider tourist experience, all of which would have a broader economic impact on the city.Originality/valueUnderstanding which factors determine spending leads to an improvement in the event's viability and ensures its future sustainability. This study adds to the growing literature establishing a sound theoretical corpus on the topic.

The comparative financial and economic performance of protected areas in the Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa: functional diversity and resilience in the socio-economics of a landscape-scale reserve network

Economic contributions of park-tourism are rarely documented for individual parks in developing countries or made relevant to management or governance concerns. If economic monitoring is to aid management, economic studies of tourism are a useful starting point but traditionally yield only narrow metrics or are applied only to public parks despite many parks being connected to private or communal reserves. We evaluated a network of private and public reserves – the Greater Kruger National Park (GKNP) – comparing economic contributions of member reserves while also attributing a range of values in financial, social and political domains to different components of the system, thus enabling integration of results with resilience-oriented management frameworks and decision-making processes. We show that the diversity of management units corresponds with a diversity of values that we argue underpins institutional resilience. Although private reserves constitute only 12% of the land area, visitor spending there is responsible for over 60% of employment, tax and GDP contributions. The national park is less commercialized but accounts for almost all domestic visits by maintaining affordable access, performing a vital political and social function. However, weak community and joint-governance undermines resilience and limits the ability of stakeholders to act on economic monitoring data.

Who are the big-spending beachgoers and what is important for them?

Orientation: Beaches attract millions of visitors every year and this has an impact not only on the economy, the environment and the local community but also on current and future beachgoers. Research purpose: The aim of the article is to use expenditure-based segmentation to gain a greater understanding of beach visitor spending in order to identify different markets and the aspects they deem important. Motivation for the study: Although South Africa has a coastline of approximately 3900 km, little is known about the beachgoer to these beaches. This article contributes to the quantification of the economic benefits stemming from beach tourism and in understanding the factors that drive beach visitation. Research approach/design and method: During 2017/18, beachgoers to eight beaches in South Africa were surveyed and 1138 questionnaires were gathered. Using cluster analysis, four segments of beachgoers were identified. The differences between the various segments were explored by using analysis of variance and Pearson’s chi-square. Main findings: The high-spending markets can be distinguished by language, level of education and age, while sunbathing and relaxation are key beach activities. Six key motives for visiting beaches were identified. High-spending markets tend to visit Blue Flag beaches that offer good bathing conditions. Practical/managerial implications: This research identified four segments of visitors to South African beaches, ranging from low-spending locals to high-spending mixed market beachgoers. There are distinct differences between the segments, but important to all segments are the environment qualities of the beach in terms of both cleanliness and beach safety. Contribution/value-add: The research, therefore, concludes that two the main threats to beach tourism and destinations are (1) pollution of the oceans and (2) global warming.

Kontribusi Desa Wisata Sendang Duwur Kabupaten Lamongan Terhadap Ekonomi Masyarakat Lokal

Location of this research in Sendang Duwur district of Lamongan. The condition of tourism Sendang Duwur Village have big potential in giving economic contribution to local society. This is the purpose of this research.
 Based on the above research that revealed three problems, namely what the uniqueness from tourism product in Sendang Duwur Village, how was the tourist shopping behavior in Sendang Duwur Tourism Village, And how was contribution of Sendang Duwur Tourism Village for Local Comunnity Economic. To express the above problem this research using primary and secondary data source, while type of data used is the qualitative data and quantitative data. The technique in order to obtain the validity of data using flow model method and quantitative analyzing. Data which collect by questionnaire, in-depht interview, observation and documentation.
 The results of this study related to tourism product unique of Sendang Duwur Tourism Village as attraction, amenities, accessibility and ancillary services. The type of tourist shopping behavior is tourist who like to look for variety with percentage of 80%. Sendang Duwur Tourism Village has not contributed optimally to improve community local economic because visitor spending whose amount is determind by length of stay cannot be used because there is no tourist staying. Tourist only make shorts visit.
 Some advice will be given for the local people so that keep specificity of tourism product. For the government to more active to promote Sendang Duwur Village to be known to many people.
 
 Keywords : contribution economy, tourism village, local community

Examining the Visitor Profile and Event Characteristics of a Festival

Festivals and special events serve as important attractors for destinations and provide unique experiences for visitors. The purpose of the study examined the visitor profile and event characteristics of the 2015 Louisiana Seafood Festival. Food and beverage and music were the top rated aspects of the festival most important to the attendee. Results showed that the festival made a valuable contribution by attracting nearly 56,000 attendees. The visitor profile provided valuable information on visitor characteristics, event characteristics, and visitor spending. The event organizers can use the visitor profile for marketing and advertising efforts to attract more patrons to the festival.

The Complementary Effect of National Park Fee Increases on Visitor Spending in Gateway Communities

In 2017, the US National Park Service faced a nearly $12 billion maintenance backlog. To address this backlog, they announced plans to increase entrance fees in 17 of the most visited parks. As fees are a component of the travel cost, we consider price change effects on demand for park entry. Demand for the 17 parks is shown to be inelastic. Recognizing that spending in gateway communities is complementary to national park visitation, we use Yellowstone National Park as a case study on entrance fee increase effects on gateway communities. We estimate a $3.4 million annual loss in gateway community spending by visitors as a result of reduced visitation by those visitors who choose not to purchase a 7-day pass. Acknowledging the diminishing effect of the fee increase on travel costs, we further explore alternative means of structuring fees based on examples of other countries.

Tourism expenditure in post-earthquake Christchurch, New Zealand

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates whether tourism expenditure and exchange rates influence local GDP for the city of Christchurch (New Zealand), following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Domestic and international expenditures are analysed separately using vector auto-regression (VAR) models. We perform Granger causality tests to determine the directionality of the relationships uncovered. Our results show that increased domestic and international visitor spending is followed by a measurable and significant increase in local GDP. Exchange rates have a small but non-significant impact on international tourist spending. Stimulating tourism demand will be an essential element to achieve substantial economic growth in Christchurch. The findings have implications for policy making in terms of promoting economic growth in disaster prone areas.

Using Quantile Regression to Understand Senior International Visitor Spending—Evidences from Taiwan

Using Quantile Regression to Understand Senior International Visitor Spending—Evidences from Taiwan

The impact of service quality and customer satisfaction on consumer spending in wineries

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to examine the key attributes of winery service quality that affect winery visitors’ satisfaction. The study also investigates the key factors that affect winery visitors’ spending at a winery. Data are obtained from a survey of winery visitors about their evaluation of various service attributes. Data were later matched with respondents’ actual spending at a winery in Sonoma, California. The results of the study demonstrate that the quality of wine tastings, winery staff hospitality, and winery tasting room experiences are positively related to winery visitors’ satisfaction. On the other hand, staff hospitality, age, gender, and frequency of winery visits are significant variables that account for winery visitors’ spending at the winery. Surprisingly, wine quality is not significantly correlated with winery visitor spending.

Counting on Visitors: A Review of Methods and Applications for the National Park Service’s Visitor Use Statistics Program

The longest series of visitor use statistics for federal lands is managed by the National Park Service and goes back to 1904. The objectives of the National Park Service’s Visitor Use Statistics program are to provide statistically valid, reliable, and uniform methods of collecting and reporting visitor use data for each independently authorized unit administered by the NPS. The program addresses recreation visit counts and hours, non-recreation visit counts and hours, and overnight stays. Estimating visitor use is a complex and difficult task. The NPS estimates use at 384 park units that accommodate many different types of public access. Large iconic parks generally have entrance stations where automated vehicle counters can capture use and the NPS currently has about 960 traffic monitoring stations that employ standard vehicle counting technologies. However, there are many units where visitors enter a site in a manner where an automated counting system cannot be used. Parks with “porous” boundaries or extremely remote areas still defy reasonable visitation estimates, often because of the extreme expense involved in collecting data or conducting visitor studies. For example, urban park units such as The National Mall in Washington, D.C. and Golden Gate NRA in the San Francisco Bay area or rivers such as Niobrara NSR and Chattahoochee NRA require other approaches to estimate visitation and may include sampled counts, fixed estimates or counts with expansion multipliers. The success of the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Program is due in large part to the collaborative effort between park field staff and the national office to develop official count procedures that are consistent with NPS definitions. By providing approved options for counting and estimating visitor use, national program managers allow parks the flexibility to choose among a suite of tools that suit their unique park visitation situation. Although the initial purpose of collecting visitor use statistics for the NPS was to satisfy legal and policy mandates, the NPS and public have found a variety of other applications for these data. Data from the NPS visitor use statistics program have been used to inform NPS managers about infrastructure and capacity needs, as indicators to estimate site specific uses within a park, as a key input for visitor spending effects models, and for planning by local communities and businesses. Although the premise of collecting use statistics is to fulfill legal mandates, the utility of these data for management, planning and understanding people’s relationship to NPS managed lands highlights the value of these statistics.Subscribe to JPRA

Measuring park visitation vulnerability to climate extremes in U.S. Rockies National Parks tourism

ABSTRACTChanges in temperature and precipitation can affect tourist experiences. This study examines how summer park visitation has changed in response to temperature and precipitation extremes. The study goals were two-fold. The first is to introduce a framework and the second is to test it in a pilot region with four mountainous National Parks. The framework is designed to compare the vulnerability of seasonal park visitation to shifts in a combined indicator of temperature and precipitation. It uniquely considers needed measurements, and the data required to conduct an analysis. The second goal is to test it in four destinations in the U.S. Northern Rockies, including Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain National Parks. The preliminary test reveals outlier cases of visitation under wet and dry extremes. The analysis connects time series climate and visitation data for the peak summer season from 1991–2012. Outlier analysis illustrates more change in extremely dry conditions, with four out of the six dry-year outliers resulting in a visitation decline. Whether this decline in park tourism is attributable to climate features, economic factors, or conscious management decisions, these drops have significant economic impacts: estimates of changes in visitor spending during dry years are between roughly 9 and 90 million USD. These differences may be connected to the popular activities in each park, and the extent they are dependent on weather conditions. This framework can be used to test the relationship between climate and tourism visitation in other regions, in various seasons and time frames. The work may inform the tourist sector in adjusting and planning for a range of conditions. We discuss opportunities and conclude with additional needs for understanding the mechanisms behind risk in mountain park tourism under climate extremes.

Visitor spending effects: assessing and showcasing America's investment in national parks

ABSTRACT This paper provides an overview of the evolution, future, and global applicability of the U.S. National Park Service's (NPS) visitor spending effects framework and discusses the methods used to effectively communicate the economic return on investment in America's national parks. The 417 parks represent many of America's most iconic destinations: in 2016, they received a record 331 million visits. Competing federal budgetary demands necessitate that, in addition to meeting their mission to preserve unimpaired natural and cultural resources for the enjoyment of the people, parks also assess and showcase their contributions to the economic vitality of their regions and the nation. Key approaches explained include the original Money Generation Model (MGM) from 1990, MGM2 used from 2001, and the visitor spending effects model which replaced MGM2 in 2012. Detailed discussion explains the NPS's visitor use statistics system, the formal program for collecting, compiling, and reporting visitor use data. The NPS is now establishing a formal socioeconomic monitoring (SEM) program to provide a standard visitor survey instrument and a long-term, systematic sampling design for in-park visitor surveys. The pilot SEM survey is discussed, along with the need for international standardization of research methods.