Low Gasoline Prices

Abstract

While the fluctuating price of gasoline has affected numerous industries throughout the world, very few entities in the global economy are more impacted than tourism and hospitality businesses located in destinations relying heavily on visitor demand generated by automobile travel. This study examines the effect of decreases in gasoline prices on travel expenditures and behavior among visitors arriving by auto to Florida destination areas. Data on travel expenditures, behavioral characteristics, selected demographics, revisit intention, and overall satisfaction with the on-site experience were collected at random from in-state and out-of-state travelers. A two-level hierarchical linear modeling approach was used to provide an accurate picture of the effects that decreasing gasoline prices have on auto visitor expenditures specific to restaurants, entertainment, admission to attractions and events, numbers of activities pursued during their on-site visit to the destination, and their impact on satisfaction and revisit intention.