Does type of accommodation influence tourist behavior? Hotel accommodation vs. rural accommodation

ABSTRACT

Knowing how tourists behave in destinations is a key issue for successful marketing and management. Continuous changes in motivations of tourists highlight the necessity to understand visitors’ consumption patterns. The choices they make regarding the type of accommodation not only reflect tourists’ expectations, but also influence their behavior in the destination. This research aim is analyzing the possible differences in behavior between tourists depending on their preferred accommodation. The study was carried out in the province of Jaén, an emerging destination in southern Spain. A semi-structured survey was conducted with 430 visitors obtaining information that highlights, among other issues, the interest expressed by rural accommodation users in natural environments, along with more evenly disbursed spending patterns across the territory.

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism demand segmentation
• tourist behaviour
• hotel accommodation
• rural accommodation
• emerging destinations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández

Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Head of the Laboratory of Analysis and Innovation in Tourism (LAInnTUR) at the University of Jaén in Spain. His main research interests focus on tourism economics, destination management, sustainability of tourism, tourism impacts, and social network analysis.

Jairo Casado-Montilla

Jairo Casado-Montilla an active researcher and member of the Laboratory of Analysis and Innovation in Tourism (LAInnTUR) at the University of Jaén in Spain. His main research interests focus on tourism development, destination management, sustainability of tourism, branding destinations, and social network analysis.

Isabel Carrillo-Hidalgo

Isabel Carrillo-Hidalgo is Assistant Professor in the Department of Financial Economics and Accounting and member of the Laboratory of Analysis and Innovation in Tourism (LAInnTUR) of the University of Jaén in Spain. Her main line of research focuses on financing, destination management, tourism economics and tourism development.

José Luis Durán-Román

José Luis Durán-Román is Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Organization, Marketing and Sociology and member of the Laboratory of Analysis and Innovation in Tourism (LAInnTUR) at the University of Jaén in Spain. His main research interests focus on tourism economics, sustainability of tourism, competitiveness, and tourist tax.