Does the consumer’s variety-seeking behavior condition the willingness to travel further?

The objective of this study is to test the effect of the consumer’s variety-seeking behaviour on the distance the tourist is prepared to travel; that is, his/her willingness to travel further. The empirical application is carried out in Spain in a context with 26 destinations, by applying Mixed Logit Models. The results evidence that the variety-seeking behaviour reduces the dissuasive effect of distance.

El objetivo del presente estudio es contrastar el efecto del comportamiento “búsqueda de variedad” en la distancia que el turista está dispuesto a realizar; es decir, su predisposición a viajar más o menos lejos. La aplicación empírica se desarrolla en España en un contexto de 26 destinos, aplicándose un Modelo Logit Mixto. Los resultados evidencian que la “búsqueda de variedad” reduce el “efecto disuasivo” de la distancia.

This study has benefited from a “Turismo de España” grant from the Secretary of State for Commerce and Tourism of the Ministry of Economy for the realisation of the Doctoral thesis, which was awarded to the author.