How weather conditions affect guest arrivals and duration of stay: An alpine destination case

Abstract

Weather can be a major concern for travelers when choosing a destination, preparing their trip and during their stay. Existing publications focus on explaining the role of weather based on one, or at most, a few parameters and usually for one season. This paper proposes a new approach covering all four seasons by connecting daily data from meteorological stations to tourists' registration information. This approach allows for an understanding of travel volumes based on actual travel data and not on perceptions or desired outcomes. The results suggest a clear impact of weather on the number and duration of short-term trips for all seasons. There was no clear indication that weather forecasts played a significant role in the structure of mid or long term trips.

Uneven domestic tourism demand in times of pandemic

“…Another factor that influences domestic tourism demand, and thus needs to be controlled for, is climate variability or weather factors. Several studies show that weather, in the origin as well as in the destination areas or at an earlier point in time have a significant impact on tourism flows (Bausch et al, 2021; Becken and Wilson, 2013; Eugenio-Martin and Campos-Soria, 2014; Kulendran and Dwyer, 2012; Li et al, 2017; Muñoz et al, 2021; Otero-Giráldez et al, 2012; Priego et al, 2015; Serquet and Rebetez, 2011; Taylor and Ortiz, 2009). Tourism demand is dynamic to its nature, influenced by habits, intentions and as well as words-of-mouth (Dogru et al, 2021; Garín-Muñoz, 2009; Liu, 2020; Song et al, 2008).…”

Impacts of Climate Change on Tourism Areas in Germany: An Overview of Recommended Adaptation Measures and Their Communication

“…Quantification would require trip or turnover data on a daily basis. A case study for an Alpine destination can already establish a connection by analysing a combination of weather data and overnight stay data [12].…”

Effects of Abnormal Weather Conditions on the Performance of Hotel Firms

“…However, the study of Falk (2014) focused on summer rather than exploring the four seasons. Similarly, Bausch et al (2021) investigated not only tourist arrivals but also their length of stay at accommodations. Although Bausch et al (2021) collected daily demand and weather-related (e.g., temperature, humidity, cloud cover, air, and vapor pressure) data, an analytical approach was not proposed to estimate the effect of weather changes on guest behaviors.…”

“…Similarly, Bausch et al (2021) investigated not only tourist arrivals but also their length of stay at accommodations. Although Bausch et al (2021) collected daily demand and weather-related (e.g., temperature, humidity, cloud cover, air, and vapor pressure) data, an analytical approach was not proposed to estimate the effect of weather changes on guest behaviors. Instead, the results presented the mean differences in accommodation performance in accordance with variations in weather conditions.…”