Determinants of the spending of sporting tourists: The case of attendees at professional basketball

Abstract

This article analyses the determinants of attendees’ tourism spending at professional basketball matches during the 2012/2013 season. For this purpose, it applies a linear quantile regression and considers the effect of specific sports event variables which have rarely been assessed in this type of study. Empirical results confirm that the determinants of expenditure have a different influence depending on the spending level. Individual spending is principally influenced by the origin of the attendees as well as by several other sports factors such as the time the match takes place, the admission price, or the sporting level of the rival team. The study establishes two levels of spending to identify the different behaviors that correspond to each of the factors under study. The findings could provide a useful input into tourism strategies related to the hosting of sport events. JEL classification: L83, Z20, Z30, Keywords: Sports tourism, Visitor expenditure, Determinants of expenditure, Quantile regression