The Gironde estuary nature-based tourists: examining and identifying the relationship between their trip expenditure and visit motivation
Résumé
This study represents an initial effort to explore the impact of tourists' motivations, trip characteristics, and socio-demographic attributes on their daily spending in the Gironde estuary. The research investigates these factors using both quintile regression and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Specifically, the quintile regression facilitates a segmentation approach, categorizing tourists into light, medium, and heavy spenders. The empirical findings reveal a significant correlation between the importance tourists place on experiencing seaside tourism and their daily spending during a current trip. Interestingly, these results differ from the observation that the variable indicating whether tourists have previously visited a natural amenity does not seem to influence their daily expenditure. Moreover, the study identifies that travel motives, albeit to a lesser extent, coupled with variables such as household income and the chosen accommodation type, impact tourists' daily spending.