Visitors’ Expenditure Behaviour at Cultural Events

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the determinants of the visitors’ expenditure behavior at Christmas Markets. We have analyzed the visitors’ expenditure at micro-level, dividing them into spending on accommodation and on food and beverage. The explicative variables taken into account are socio-demographic, economic, psychological, and trip-related attributes. An ad-hoc survey was conducted in the three most famous Christmas Markets in the North of Italy in December 2008 and 2009. To reach our aim we have adopted the robust double-hurdle model. Results indicate that travel purpose, region of origin, perception of the event, length of stay and age are significant factors influencing both the propensity to spend and the amount of money that visitors spend during their visit. The findings offer destination and private tourism businesses practical knowledge useful for destination marketing, event development and customer service.

Keywords: Tourist expenditure, cultural event, double-hurdle model, spending behaviour

JEL Classification: C19, D12, L83