Characteristics of Middle European Holiday Highfliers

Abstract

This article estimates a count-data model on the flight behaviour of Austrian holiday-makers based on information from a large representative quarterly survey spanning the years 2014–2016. On average, the number of holiday flights ranges between 0.6 and 1.2 per year for residents in the least populated region and the capital, respectively. Results of the estimations reveal that the number of holiday flights is highest for persons with tertiary degrees, of a young age (16–24 years) and capital city residents, while it is lowest for individuals with children and large households. Residents of the capital city fly 78 percent more often in a given quarter than those living in Carinthia, the most rural region. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis reveals that the difference is rather related to location than to variations in individual characteristics. Socio-demographic aspects such as age, household size and travelling with children are of no relevance for the holiday flying behaviour of capital residents.

Keywords

• count data model
• holiday travel
• tourist air travel
• travel frequency