Title: Factors influencing self-drive vacation travellers' length of stay

Authors: Sangchoul Yi; Jonathon Day; Liping A. Cai

Addresses: School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, 900 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47906-2059, USA ' School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, 900 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47906-2059, USA ' School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University, 900 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47906-2059, USA

Abstract: The current research investigated the self-drive vacation travel market, examining determinants for demand for accommodations and the effects of external economic changes (e.g., fuel price fluctuation) on tourism. The study analysed data from two government data sources, a special survey module in the National Household Travel Survey which examined long distance trips, and the gas price index from the US Energy Information Administration. The present study compared two mainstream segments of the self-drive vacation market, which are self-drive vacation staying at commercial lodging facilities (SDV-lodging) and self-drive vacation staying at a friend or relative's accommodations (SDV-FR). Using the 2SLS model, the effects of the socio-demographic variables and travel-related variables were tested statistically. Statistical results showed that an endogeneity issue occurred in the SDV-lodging segment, revealing that 2SLS is better than the OLS estimation.

Keywords: 2SLS model; drive tourism; gas price; length of stay; vacation travel; self-drive travellers; accommodation demand; economic change; fuel price fluctuation; endogeneity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2013.054414

International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 2013 Vol.3 No.1, pp.90 - 106

Received: 10 Aug 2012
Accepted: 19 Feb 2013

Published online: 12 Jul 2014 *

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