Esther Martínez-Garcia

Segmentation by Tourist Expenditure Composition: an Approach with Compositional Data Analysis and Latent Classes

In this article, we propose segmenting tourists according to trip budget share (in other words, the proportions of total expenditure devoted to different items, such as transportation, accommodation, and activities undertaken). We put forward a method involving a combination of compositional data analysis (CODA) and mixture models (latent class models), which, by contrast with traditional methods (e.g., cluster analysis), makes it possible to carry out statistical inference with regard to segment characteristics and their relationships with external variables, such as tourist background. The way we use the CODA methodology is intuitively appealing and boils down to building transformed variables that can be tailored to the specific research questions. We analyze the spending profiles of tourists arriving in Spain on low-cost carriers, with relevant and interpretable results

Trip Characteristics and Dimensions of Internet Use for Transportation, Accommodation, and Activities Undertaken at Destination

This article identifies latent dimensions underlying actual Internet use by independent tourists when planning and booking their trip, and studies how these latent dimensions are affected by trip characteristics. We use structural equation models with binary variables and official statistics microdata on leisure visitors arriving in Spain by air and organizing the trip themselves (N = 20,746). We find a two-dimensional structure for actual Internet use related to the tourist product (accommodation and transportation vs. activities) rather than purpose of use (information gathering and booking). Low category hotels (hotels with fewer than three stars), trips planned long in advance, summer trips, and traveling with friends or family increase Internet use in both dimensions. Cultural trips and higher daily expenditure lead to higher Internet use in the activity dimension. Further distance and longer stay reduce Internet use in the accommodation and transportation dimension.