Determinants of homebound travel during Korean Thanksgiving

Abstract

With a large population flow and seasonal demand fluctuation, special holidays have been considered as one of the most important periods of time in tourism market. This study explores one of the biggest national holidays, Chuseok, known as Korean Thanksgiving. The purpose of this study is to examine homebound travel decision by applying a temporary mobility approach. The data are drawn from a nationwide survey in South Korea, and a total of 1170 surveys were used for analysis. A sample selection probit model is used to estimate whether travel decisions during Korean Thanksgiving affects the results of the two-stage correction for reducing selectivity bias. The estimation reduces the potential for self-selection bias, as individuals’ decision to travel during Korean Thanksgiving is a nonrandom decision. The estimated results provide manifestations of different travel demands during Korean Thanksgiving.