Determinants of the Likelihood of Tourist Spending in Cultural Micro-Destinations: Type, Timing, and Distance of the Activity as Predictors

Although tourism expenditure has long been a pertinent topic in studies dealing with cultural tourism, its importance in recent years has become even more marked due to the consequences of low-cost tourism that many destinations are suffering. This need has been further aggravated by the impact of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Now, the only sustainable means of increasing destination revenue is to generate greater financial profitability of tourism-related activities, as opposed to increasing tourist volumes. The present study analyzes the determinants of the likelihood of tourist spending in an urbancultural destination whose economic sustainability is being threatened by low-cost tourism. To this end, all the tourism activities of the sample (672 in total) were recorded in real time during the stay via a purpose-designed mobile application. Given the nested structure of the sample, multilevel modeling was used: the characteristics of the different tourism activities were used as predictor variables, while characteristics of the tourist were used as control variables. Regarding the former, the results suggest that spending is more likely at the beginning of the stay and in relation to non-cultural tourism activities (restaurants, shopping, transport, etc.). An interaction effect between activity location and timing (beginning vs. end of stay) was also demonstrated: at the beginning of the stay, the greater likelihood of spending was related to services or attractions outside the city center; and, toward the end, spending patterns become more static, based close to the city center. The aim is to explain the probability of tourist expenditure at each spending opportunity, thus contributing to the current knowledge of total tourist spending. Knowledge of tourist expenditure patterns is a prerequisite for raising profitability-per-tourist when increasing visitor volumes is not an option.State Research Agency PID2019-110941RB-I00/SRAJunta de Andalucia B-SEJ-381-UGR18European Commission B-SEJ-381-UGR1

Analysis of the dispersion of tourist spending in overexploited destinations using new technologies: the case of Granada, Spain

El propósito de este trabajo es el estudio de la dispersión geográfica del gasto realizado por los turistas domésticos en un microdestino cultural como es la ciudad de Granada, España. Para ello, se realiza un análisis de regresión de clases latentes para tratar de identificar los factores que afectan a dicha dispersión. Dichos gastos fueron representados en diferentes mapas de calor para poder observar las zonas sobreexplotadas de la ciudad. Respecto a los resultados, se identificaron dos segmentos los cuales difieren en cuanto a la dispersión del gasto, con base en su edad y visitas previas al destino. La elevada presión turística de este tipo de destinos está comenzando a ser un grave problema para los mismos, por ello esta investigación trata de aportar conclusiones relevantes en cuanto a la gestión de dichas aglomeraciones, así como para la identificación de localizaciones de interés, las cuales procuren una correcta instalación de los servicios turísticos.The aim of this research is to analyse the geographical distribution of the spending made by domestic tourists in an eminently cultural destination, the City of Granada, Spain. To do this we have conducted a latent class regression analysis. We have attempted to identify those factors that affect the geographical distribution of tourist expenditure. This was achieved through observing a heat map representation. Two clusters were identified in the regression results, where significant differences in terms of expenditure distribution by age and previous visits were observed. Overcrowding and profitability of tourism are two of the issues currently studied by the research. Therefore, we seek to manage both, improving route planning and the places of interest for the installation of tourist services