Factors Affecting Travel Mode Choice between High-speed Railway and Air Transportation among University Students for Tourism - Evidence from China

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the students’ preferred travel mode choice (high-speed railway (HSR) or air transportation (AT)) for tourism and the influencing factors which predict their mode choice. A questionnaire survey was conducted among university students (refers to both undergraduate and graduate students) in Beijing, China, measuring the students’ demographic characteristics, travel situations, travel mode choice, and intentions regarding tourism. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the influencing factors responsible for travel mode choice between HSR and AT. The results showed that gender, transportation cost, transportation time, the person accompanying the traveler, and sources of funds are significant factors of choosing HSR. It was found that males are found to be more attracted to HSR as compared to females. Furthermore, choosing HSR as a travel mode is negatively correlated with transportation costs. The study results further revealed that travel partner (who accompany the students in the tour) and sources of funds are the crucial variables in predicting their travel mode choice among university students. It was found that students prefer to travel via HSR with their spouse or lover. Lastly, improvements are suggested for government officials and related stakeholders to maximize the profits of HSR and AT.

摘要

本文旨在研究高校学生旅游的首选出行方式 (高铁 (HSR) 或航空 (AT)) 以及其出行方式选择的影响因素。研究以中国北京地区高校学生为调查对象, 对学生的人口统计学特征, 旅游状况, 旅游出行方式选择及旅游意向进行问卷调查。通过二项逻辑回归模型分析, 探究高铁与航空出行方式选择的影响因素。研究结果表明, 性别, 交通成本, 交通时间, 旅行同伴以及资金来源是影响高铁这一出行方式选择的重要因素。相较于女生, 高铁对男生更有吸引力。此外, 选择高铁作为出行方式与交通成本呈负相关关系。研究结果进一步表明, 旅行同伴 (同游的人) 和资金来源是预测高校学生旅游出行方式选择的关键变量。相较于独自或与父母一起旅行, 高校学生更喜欢与配偶或恋人乘坐高铁旅行。最后, 本文针对政府与利益相关者, 给出了最大程度地提高高铁和航空的利润的改进建议。

KEYWORDS:

• Mode choice
• travel market
• university students
• high-speed railway
• air transportation
• binary logistic regression

关键词:

• 出行方式选择
• 旅行市场
• 高校学生
• 高铁
• 航空
• 二项逻辑回归

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

We acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [No. 51778340].

Notes on contributors

Jing Shi

Jing Shi is Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Moreover, he is the Director of the Institute of Transportation R&D. His research interests are transportation planning, transport policy and traffic psychology. Recent researches include tourist behavior, cross-cultural issues in tourism, travel behavior, quantitative modeling practices, traffic safety, driving behavior, risk analysis, accident analysis, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and Smart City. He has published more than 150 papers and 8 publications ([email protected]).

Muhammad Hussain

Muhammad Hussain is Ph.D. Scholar in the Institute of Transportation Engineering at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. His field of research includes tourist behavior, cross-cultural issues in tourism, travel behavior, aberrant driving behavior, traffic psychology, traffic flow, accident analysis, prediction of accidents based on demographic and socioeconomic features and influence of aberrant driving behavior on traffic flow ([email protected]).

Xiang Pei Kong

Xiang Pei Kong has recently completed her Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Her research interests include tourism, travel behavior, and cross-cultural issues in tourism ([email protected]).