Title of Paper
Measuring International Tourism Demand to the United States: System Theory Perspective
Abstract (150 Words)
Identifying relevant factors that affect tourism demand is of utmost importance for destinations in planning future tourism development. Drawing on the system theory of quality of life and consumer demand theory, this study offers a novel conceptualization of tourism demand, that moves beyond a mere economic perspective. The Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network model is employed to examine the impact of diverse quality of life dimensions of both source and destination countries in predicting tourist arrivals to the United States. The findings suggest that along with traditional demand determinants (e.g. per capita income, relative exchange rate), objective quality of life indicators are significant predictors of tourism demand. The study concludes with theoretical and practical implications.
Measuring International Tourism Demand to the United States: System Theory Perspective
Identifying relevant factors that affect tourism demand is of utmost importance for destinations in planning future tourism development. Drawing on the system theory of quality of life and consumer demand theory, this study offers a novel conceptualization of tourism demand, that moves beyond a mere economic perspective. The Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network model is employed to examine the impact of diverse quality of life dimensions of both source and destination countries in predicting tourist arrivals to the United States. The findings suggest that along with traditional demand determinants (e.g. per capita income, relative exchange rate), objective quality of life indicators are significant predictors of tourism demand. The study concludes with theoretical and practical implications.