An Investigation on Tourists' Length of Stay in Guimaras Province, Philippines

Abstract

The number of days spent or length of stay by tourists in a specific destination is seldom the subject of an empirical research. The dearth in said research coverage persists despite the well-established economic impact of revenues from tourist expenditures on local economies on a daily and cumulative basis. Descriptive analysis, cross-classification of variables, regression analysis, and survival analysis were used to explore the subject of tourist duration or length of stay. The results showed that several factors affect the duration of tourists' visit in Guimaras province. Civil status, employment status, frequency of vacation in a year, vacation trip purpose, budget per hour, and travel budget affect the length of stay of Guimaras tourists. It was also revealed that the total travel budget set by tourists is directly related to their length of stay in Guimaras for tourism purposes. The study results suggest that the tourism industry in the province may benefit most from single tourists (i.e. unmarried solo travelers) who are more inclined to stay longer as visitors. It may be advantageous for the tourism promotion offices to target single tourists as a market segment in Guimaras.

Acknowledgements

The researchers would like to thank the tourism officers of Guimaras province for the assistance in the data gathering and site visits.

Funding

The researchers would like to thank Department of Science and Technology–Engineering Research and Development for Technology (DOST–ERDT) for granting financial support. This work was supported by the DOST under the ERDT Scholarship Program.