Importance of E-Services for Cultural Tourism

Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 11-109/3

26 Pages Posted: 11 Aug 2011

See all articles by Eveline van Leeuwen

Eveline van Leeuwen

VU University Amsterdam - Department of Spatial Economics

Peter Nijkamp

VU University of Amsterdam - Department of Spatial Economics; Tinbergen Institute

Date Written: August 11, 2011

Abstract

Despite a busy lifestyle – or perhaps as a result of a stressful lifestyle – more people than ever before make leisure trips, sometimes for a long time but in many cases just for short periods. Modern telecommunication technology brings attractive tourist destinations directly into the living rooms of potential travelers, also destinations that would otherwise have been difficult to find, such as certain cultural heritage objects. In this contribution, we will address the relevance of e-services in urban cultural tourism. Its aim is to map out the relative drivers of cultural visitors to cities with a particular view on the importance of modern e-services in the tourist sector. We focus on three case-study cities: Amsterdam, Leipzig and Genoa. We use discrete choice models and factor analysis to analyze the preferences of tourists for cultural heritage and e-services. Interestingly, in all three cities, the most important group of tourists, the cultural heritage enthusiasts, are often international tourists. This stresses the importance of multilingual e-services in order to maximize their impact on cultural heritage visitors and the tourism sector in general. In addition, it is also important to note that certain e-services become more important for tourists from further away, such as online booking systems.

Keywords: tourism, cultural heritage, e-services, ordered logit models, factor analysis

JEL Classification: L83, L86

Suggested Citation

van Leeuwen, Eveline and Nijkamp, Peter, Importance of E-Services for Cultural Tourism (August 11, 2011). Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper 11-109/3, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1908146 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1908146

Eveline Van Leeuwen (Contact Author)

VU University Amsterdam - Department of Spatial Economics ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
1081HV Amsterdam
Netherlands

Peter Nijkamp

VU University of Amsterdam - Department of Spatial Economics ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
1081HV Amsterdam
Netherlands
+31 20 4446091 (Phone)
+31 20 4445611 (Fax)

Tinbergen Institute

Gustav Mahlerplein 117
Amsterdam, 1082 MS
Netherlands

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