Determinants of leisure expenditure: Do low income families behave any differently from others?

Abstract

Tourism is not accessible to all individuals and households. Low income specifically constrains participation in tourism and affects households’ level of Leisure and Tourism Expenditure (LTE). This study uses micro-data available regarding 9489 Portuguese households, deepening the understanding of the Portuguese reality concerning the households’ LTE, its determinants, and how these differ according to the households’ income level. Studies analysing leisure and tourism in low income families are scarce. Low income families have significantly lower LTE and important differences in the determinants of LTE arise between the groups of families. This deeper knowledge about the households’ LTE can form the basis for actions aiming to reduce constraints and encourage leisure and tourism, maximizing the benefits low income families can obtain from that participation.

Keywords:

• Leisure expenditure
• tourism expenditure
• household income
• low income families
• Portugal

Notes

1. Although Portugal is a European nation, in 2011, only 15.4% of its population held a higher education diploma (INE, 2012a).

2. The Models 4, 5 and 6, consider the level of expenditure on LTA as dependent variable. The obtained results were similar to the results of Models 7, 8 and 9. For reasons of space, are not reported here but can be made available upon request to the author.