How far will we travel? A global distance pattern of international travel from both demand and supply perspectives

Abstract

The travel distance of international journeys critically determines our reliance on different transportation modes and the associated carbon intensity. This study quantified the influence of macrolevel determinants to the inbound and outbound average distance per visitor from a panel data of 152 countries using spatial econometric analysis. Results confirmed that national development and transport capacity assisted the spatial expansion of outbound travel, while tourism competitiveness, geographic attributes, and institutional arrangements regarding people’s mobility facilitate inbound visits from distant source markets. A high level of heterogeneity was found across five continents where the distance friction effect through geographic barrier, transport accessibility, and the freedom of people’s movement exhibited a different level of influences. To manage the spatial expansion of international travels for a sustainable transport future, a strong geopolitical integration system across countries within the region and adjustments to the aviation capacity to disfavor long-haul flights have been proposed.

The Role of Perceived Quality on High-Speed Railway Tourists’ Behavioral Intention: An Application of the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

“…Unlike consumer behavior studies of low-cost airline carriers, consumer behaviors in the HSR context have received less scholarly attention despite its influence on travel patterns [8], economic development, tourist arrivals, and sustainable tourism [9][10][11], spending [7,12,13], and environmental issues [14,15]. As expected, most existing studies have focused heavily on its effects on economic and environmental issues.…”

Semiparametric APC analysis of destination choice patterns: Using generalized additive models to quantify the impact of age, period, and cohort on travel distances

“…Additionally, the regular confrontation with information about foreign destinations increased with the advent of digital media (Beldona, 2005; Kim et al, 2015) leading to a decrease in perceived distance (Yang et al, 2018). According to positive correlations between the economic situation of the source market and outbound travel participation (Sun and Lin, 2019; Wong et al, 2016), it can be assumed that the growing economy of Germany is reflected in the period effect. The increase in travel within 2000–6000 km distance can be attributed to the growing popularity of specific destinations, such as Turkey or Egypt.…”

Overcoming information asymmetry in tourism carbon management: The application of a new reporting architecture to Aotearoa New Zealand

“…New Zealand offers an excellent study context. It is a prominent international destination in the global tourism system, despite being distant from key source markets and dependent on high carbon, long-haul aviation ( Sun & Lin, 2019 ). Tourism has long been an important sector of the New Zealand economy, with a history of sustained high growth in international arrivals driven since 1999 b y the enormously successful ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ international marketing campaign ( Ateljevic & Doorne, 2002 ; Morgan, Pritchard, & Piggott, 2002 ).…”