Outbound vs. domestic travel expenditure: the lens of thaler’s mental account and family utility function

ABSTRACT

Traditional theories of consumer economy suggest that outbound tourism expenditure may inhibit domestic tourism expenditure. However, little is known about whether the effect really exists. This study applied Thaler’s Mental Accounting Theory and the Family Utility Function Model to test the relationship between domestic and outbound tourism expenditure using a sample of 1,147 Chinese travelers. The study suggests that outbound tourism expenditure has a promotional effect on domestic tourism expenditure, because: 1) the majority of Chinese travelers’ outbound tourism is still characterized by sightseeing tours with shallow experiences, and 2) unsatisfied needs and expenditures in outbound travel can promote expenditures in domestic tourism. The study makes two important theoretical contributions. First, findings of the study helped to solve the disagreement on the relationships between domestic and outbound expenditures by applying the Mental Accounting Theory. Second, it considered characteristics of both tourism products and tourists’ experiences’ influence on the allocation of travel expenditures. Given the influence of the pandemic which prohibited outbound travel, such a study is timely and has meaningful empirical implications.

摘要

传统消费者经济理论认为, 出境旅游消费可能会抑制国内旅游消费。然而, 鲜有研究对此进行实证检验。本研究借助1147个中国游客数据, 基于心理账户理论和家庭效用函数模型, 实证探究出境旅游消费和国内旅游消费之间的实际关系。结果显示, 出境旅游消费对国内旅游消费具有促进作用。具体原因为:1) 大多数中国游客的出境旅游主要以观光旅游为主;2) 未被满足的出境旅游需求和消费转化为国内旅游消费。本研究的理论贡献在于:1) 基于心理账户理论厘清了国内旅游消费和国外旅游消费之间的关系;2) 揭示了旅游产品特征和游客体验对旅游消费分配的影响。在目前新冠疫情限制出境旅游消费背景下, 本研究结果对于促进国内旅游消费具有重要的启示意义。

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism expenditure
• thaler’s mental accounting theory
• family utility function model

关键词:

• 旅游消费
• 塞勒心理账户理论
• 家庭效用函数模型

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Xiang Wei

Xiang Wei is Associate Professor at the National Academy of Economic Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). His research area is in leisure economy and social economy (E-mail: [email protected]).

Emily Ma

Emily Ma is Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research areas include organizational behavior and customer experience management in hospitality and tourism contexts (E-mail: [email protected]).

Yu Pan

Yu Pan is Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Marketing, College of Business, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, PR China (E-mail: [email protected]).