Factors contributing to tourists' length of stay in Dalian northeastern China — A survival model analysis

Length of stay is one of the most important determinants of the overall impact of tourism in a given economy. However, due to its statistical nature and complexity such as censoring and non negativity, it is rarely systematically analyzed in economic research literature. This article estimated an econometric parametric survival analysis model to learn the determinants of length of stay, in a novel way in the tourism demand literature. In the process, a number of tourist's socio-demographic characteristics were analyzed in order to disclose the most important factors that can contribute to the length of tourist stays. All findings' policy implications are addressed accordingly.

► Length of stay is an important determinant of the impact of tourism in an economy.
► A repeat visitor with far travel distance is likely to experience longer stays.
► Future research should characterize such groups.
► Tourist income plays statistically significant role in determining length of stay.
► A higher degree of education is associated with shorter expected stays.