Can five sun-and-sand Sardinian destinations host longer visits?

Abstract

This work studies the determinants of the length of stay for different categories of tourists who visit five destinations in Southern Sardinia. For this purpose, primary data were collected during the summer season 2019. The full sample is analysed first, then the study proceeds with sub-samples comparing seniors with young, women with men, and Italians with foreigners. All estimates are performed using ordinary least squares and zero truncated negative binomial estimators. At the whole-sample level, the results align with the existing literature, with only a few exceptions regarding some destination-specific variables. At the sub-sample level, interesting differences emerge between groups. Therefore, the subsample analysis turns essential to get clearer insights on the determinants of the length of stay, which has important implications for tourism scholars, destination marketing organizations, and local development authorities.