Impacts of risk aversion on tourism consumption: A hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis

Abstract

This study extends tourism demand research by focusing on how an important psychological factor, risk aversion, affects tourism participation and expenditure. Based on five waves of national longitudinal data from the China Household Financial Survey, this study represents an initial attempt in the tourism literature to integrate a Heckman model with a hierarchical age–period–cohort model to decompose the effects of time-related factors (age, period, and birth cohorts) when analyzing the role of risk aversion in tourism decisions. Findings showed that risk aversion significantly influenced tourism participation and expenditure. The propensity to travel and the amount of tourism expenditure each declined over one's lifetime. Period and cohort effects differentially affected tourism participation and expenditure.