Determining spending behaviour of female travellers in nature-based tourism

This study identifies a potential market for nature-based tourism in the form of female travellers. It further discusses the significance of economic benefits accrued from this market to facilitate stakeholder co-ordination toward sustained environment strategies. Visitors to Lake Berryessa, Napa County, California were surveyed in 2002. The results reveal that majority of female travellers were domestic tourists travelling an average distance of 50 miles. Average spending was found to be $299 and regression analyses indicated that repeat visitation was a key determinant of spending. Socio-economic characteristics such as age and income did not influence the spending behaviour of the female travellers. Results further indicate that despite low multipliers, non-resident female travellers generated an economic impact of $22.9 million.