Satisfaction, seasonality and tourist expenditure in consolidated tourist destinations

ABSTRACT

In recent years, tourism literature has been incorporating tourist satisfaction as a determinant of competitiveness and expenditure in destinations. It was expected a direct relationship between the variables: the better the experience, the greater the expenditure. However, previous literature has not found a strong relationship between them. This study attempts to address this gap by analysing a data survey from Calp, a consolidated destination on the Spanish Mediterranean coastline, using a static comparative exercise between different tourism seasons. As a novel theoretical contribution, seasonality and the different items of expenditure are included in the analysis. In accordance with the previous literature, the result obtained does not confirm a close relationship between satisfaction and expenditure. Some managerial implications are also suggested.

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism expenditure
• tourist satisfaction
• destination competitiveness
• seasonality
• Spain

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Tourism Department of the Ayuntamiento de Calp for the facilities provided to carry out this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

José Francisco Perles-Ribes

José Francisco Perles-Ribes is an honour collaborator with the Applied Economic Department of the University of Alicante and his research is focused in tourism services, destination competitiveness as well as the innovation and new technologies applied to the tourism industry. In these fields they have published several articles in prestigious international journals.

Luis Moreno-Izquierdo

Luis Moreno-Izquierdo of the Department of Applied Economic Analysis of the University of Alicante. European doctor and extraordinary doctorate award. Member of the Interuniversity Institute of International Economics, of the University Institute of Water and Environmental Sciences of the University of Alicante, as well as of the Innatur Research Groups. She has published numerous works on tourism economics and water resource management and water economics in prestigious journals.

Teresa Torregrosa

Teresa Torregrosa at the University of Alicante (Department of Applied Economic Analysis) and researcher at the Institute of International Economics and the Institute for Tourism Research. Specialized in the area of the Economy of Innovation and digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence in transport and education or tourism, among others. He has published works on tourism economics, innovation and artificial Intelligence in prestigious journals.

Ana Belén Ramón-Rodríguez

Ana Belén Ramón-Rodríguez at the University of Alicante in the Department of Applied Economic Analysis. Researcher at the University Institute of International Economics and head of the Research Group on Tourism Economics, Natural Resources and New Technologies at the University of Alicante. The author’s research is focused in tourism services, internationalization and hospitality management and the innovation and new technologies applied to the tourism industry. In these fields they have published several articles in prestigious international journals.