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Seasonality in tourist flows: Decomposing and testing changes in seasonal concentration

Author

Listed:
  • Luigi Grossi

    (Department of Economics (University of Verona))

  • Mauro Mussini

    (Department of Economics (University of Verona))

Abstract

In this paper, we show that the changes in the timing and magnitude of seasonality in tourist flows can be measured by decomposing the change in the Gini index, a widely used measure of seasonal concentration, into two components. One of them tracks the changes in the timing of fluctuations, examining the extent to which the seasonal pattern is stable and the second captures the changes in the magnitude of seasonal fluctuations. To assess whether changes in the seasonal pattern and magnitude are significant, a technique for testing statistical hypotheses concerning the two components is developed. The decomposition and statistical tests are used to examine changes in the seasonal concentration of tourist arrivals in six tourist destinations in the Veneto region, one of the most important regions in Italy and Europe for tourism, over the decade from 2006 to 2016. Our analysis shows that the magnitude of seasonality significantly decreased in some destinations characterized by diversified tourist products, such as Euganean spas and Lake Garda. The seasonal pattern remained substantially stable for all destinations except Venice, where a non-negligible shift in the seasonal pattern occurred. The policy implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Luigi Grossi & Mauro Mussini, 2019. "Seasonality in tourist flows: Decomposing and testing changes in seasonal concentration," Working Papers 16/2019, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ver:wpaper:16/2019
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Dagum, Camilo, 1997. "A New Approach to the Decomposition of the Gini Income Inequality Ratio," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 515-531.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jing Zhang & Zhonglei Yu & Changhong Miao & Yuting Li & Shuai Qiao, 2022. "Cultural Tourism Weakens Seasonality: Empirical Analysis of Chinese Tourism Cities," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-14, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    concentration indices; Gini index decomposition; tourism seasonality; tourism time series;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C46 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Specific Distributions
    • C63 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computational Techniques
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • Z32 - Other Special Topics - - Tourism Economics - - - Tourism and Development

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