Income elasticity of demand for tourism at Fulufjället National Park

Abstract

National Parks are significant markers in the tourism attraction system and represent an important supply of recreation opportunities for the clients of the nature-based tourism industry. In this study, we analyze income elasticities among visitors from two major nationalities at Fulufjället National Park (FNP)—a cross-boundary park between Sweden and Norway—to see if this tourism product is a luxury or not. Modeling demand with a Tobit model, we find that visiting this National Park is close to a luxury, but results also show that elasticities differ across both income and nationality: FNP is more likely to be a luxury good among low-income Germans and high-income Swedes. The article concludes with a discussion on policy and management implications from these results.