Trip characteristics and dimensions of internet use for transportation, accommodation and activities undertaken at destination

Abstract

The aims of this paper are to identify latent dimensions underlying actual Internet use by independent tourists when planning and booking their trip, and to study how these latent dimensions are affected by trip characteristics. We use structural equation models with binary variables and official statistics microdata on leisure visitors arriving in Spain by air and organizing the trip themselves (n=20,746). We find a two-dimensional structure for actual Internet use related to the tourist product (accommodation and transportation versus activities) rather than purpose of use (information gathering and booking). Low category hotels, trips planned long in advance, summer trips, and traveling with friends or family increase Internet use in both dimensions. Cultural trips and higher daily expenditure lead to a higher Internet use in the activity dimension. Further distance and longer stay reduce Internet use in the accommodation-transportation dimension