TITLE:
What Drives Consumer Household Behavior in the Travel Market
AUTHORS:
Stanley I. Buchin
KEYWORDS:
Consumer Economics, Consumer Household Spending, Travel Spending
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Economy,
Vol.15 No.2,
February
29,
2024
ABSTRACT: Historically, the two major drivers of consumer household behavior in the
travel market have been: 1) Household income and 2) Age of householder
(household head). In addition, two additional behavioral characteristics
(psychographics) have explained anomalies in this behavior, namely, the
householder’s: a) Willingness (or desire) to try new things and b) Willingness
(or desire) to spend. The following is a summary of the most recent findings
just prior to the COVID pandemic: i) Household income remains the major
positive driver of consumer spending on travel. ii) Age of householder
(household head) remains the secondary driver of consumer spending on travel
with travel spending peaking in households whose householders are aged 45 - 54 years.
iii) Willingness (or desire) to try new things and willingness (or desire) to
spend help to explain this peaking in travel spending by middle-aged
householders. iv) These same householder attitudes are also key in the brands
selected by traveling households.