An Analysis of Tourists’ Expenditure of Winter Sport Events through Tobit Censorate Model

The aim of this study is to analyze the economic impact of the Biathlon World Cup 2009 in Antholz-Anterselva. The survey concentrates on the immediate, direct and short-term additional revenue brought into the region by foreign sport event spectators. We first apply an expenditure-based segmentation technique to data collected during the event to separate respondents according to socio-demographic variables. Second, a Tobit analysis is applied to obtain an expenditure model that is useful in explaining the different determinants of trip expenditures by spectators of the event. Results reveal significant socio-demographic differences between the four expenditure groups. For instance, heavy spenders are mainly composed by mature tourists, arriving for the first time in medium groups. We also show that the most important factors of total expenditures are income level, geographic origin of the spectator and the size of the travel group.