Determinant Factors of Tourist Expenses

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyze travel expenses across and within types. The empirical application examines the determinant factors of total expenses, controlling for potential endogeneity, and relies on quantile regression to analyze the effects of information search behavior on the distribution of total expenses as well as accommodation, shopping, food and beverages, and local transportation expenses. The role of information sources in predicting travel spending behaviors is a new dimension in the literature on expenses, and a sample of 48,113 travelers has led to the detection of effects of variables with relevant managerial implications (e.g., while official information centers show positive impacts at the upper levels of accommodation expenses, they present null effects at the highest levels of shopping expenses) as well as theoretical implications (special attention should be drawn to the variable length of stay, which, after being controlled by endogeneity, completely loses its significance).