Leisure Activities

Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 801–819, 2011 0160-7383/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain

www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2010.12.002

MONETARY AND NON-MONETARY EFFORTS FOR LEISURE ACTIVITIES

Juan L. Nicolau University of Alicante, Spain

Abstract: Getting to and staying at a destination entails effort in terms of both monetary and non-monetary costs. This study analyzes how the ‘‘individual predisposition to make an effort to get to and stay at a destination’’ varies depending upon the desire to do different leisure activity patterns at and away from home, as well as distinct socio-demographics and accommodation types. Thus, the paper focuses on these questions: to what extent are people predisposed to incur these costs in order to have the opportunity to do new leisure activities that they do not do at home, or to do the same favorite leisure activities they do at home, but more frequently? Also, are either of these behaviors contingent upon the type of activity? The results show that different predispositions exist per participation-frequency scenario (activity pattern) and per type of leisure activity. Keywords: sensitivities to price and distance, leisure activities, residual and tourist cultures. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION Although it has not received much attention in the literature, the relationship between at-home recreation activities and those realized on vacations is critical for destinations (Brey & Lehto, 2007). These authors indicate that knowledge of this relationship is crucial for tourism planners and marketers implementing strategies as it allows them to propose the right set of recreation activities. In this context, not only is it relevant to know who is interested in a specific activity but to learn the effort an individual is predisposed to make to get to a destination and to stay there to be able to do such...