The determinants of Italian domestic tourism: a panel data analysis

Abstract In this study, a GMM panel data estimation is used to investigate the main determinants of Italian domestic tourism demand as measured by regional bilateral tourism flows. The analysis is developed both at aggregate level and for the two traditional macro-areas of the country, namely Centre-North and South. For the whole nation, the importance of traditional economic variables in determining domestic tourism flows is confirmed. However tourist actual choices appear also to be influenced by past experiences and by regional differences in the quality of the wider environment. Additionally it appears that, for Italian tourists, domestic and international destinations behave as substitutable goods. The sub-sample analysis highlights some interesting differences between macro-areas. In particular, southern tourists appear more responsive to income variations, and less sensitive to prices differentials than their northern counterparts. Moreover, the degree of competition between domestic and outbound trips is higher in the South. Finally, southern tourists seem to be more influenced by environmental attributes while northern tourists are more sensitive to cultural activities

Migration and Outbound Tourism: Evidence From Italy

This paper investigates the impact of migration on Italian outbound tourism trips disaggregated by purpose of visit. A dynamic panel data analysis is carried out on a sample of 65 countries over the period 2005-2011. To disentangle pushing and pulling effects, the migration variables are defined at both the origin and the destination of tourism flows. We also control for the Italian real GDP per capita, relative prices and distance. The results show that the stock of Italian residing abroad has a positive impact on outbound tourism for all purposes. Conversely, the stock of foreign-born citizens residing in Italy appears to push Italian outbound tourism for business motives and visiting friends and relatives, but not for holiday trip

Migration and Inbound Tourism: An Italian perspective

This paper investigates the impact of migration on Italian inbound tourism flows in a dynamic panel data framework. Arrivals, expenditure and nights from 65 countries are analysed for the period 2005–2011. The migration variable is defined at both origin and destination in order to assess the pushing and pulling forces. Estimates were performed using both aggregated flows and flows disaggregated to separate the visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) from two non-VFR categories, namely holiday and business. The results suggest the presence of a strong migration-tourism nexus, which clearly goes beyond VFRs. Moreover, the effects of the different determinants vary according to the way in which the tourism market is segmented and, within each segment, to the way in which tourism demand is measured