B1745 - Economics of Tourism Markets

Learning outcomes

This course focuses on the analysis of economic concepts applied to tourism markets. Students will be introduced to consumer choice and behavioral economics applied to tourists. The course will further focus on the interpretation of the characteristics of tourism demand and supply and the organization of tourism markets. At the end of the course students will be able to critically evaluate recent studies in applied economics, with a particular reference to the tourist choice behavior and pricing strategies of tourism firms. Students will develop skills to compare theoretical frameworks with empirical evidence in the context of tourism.

Course contents

• Basics of supply and demand
• Consumer behavior
• Consumer theory applied to the tourist
• Behavioral economics
• Experimental research
• Empirical analysis of tourism demand
• Discrete choice analysis
• Market structure
• Price mechanism and market power
• Strategic pricing
• Operating environment
• Cost-benefit analysis

Readings/Bibliography

• Pindyck, R. S., & Rubinfeld, D. L. (2018). Microeconomics. Harlow: Pearson.
• Dwyer, L., Forsyth, P., & Dwyer, W. (2018). Tourism economics and policy. Channel View Publications.
• Candela, G., & Figini, P. (2012). The economics of tourism destinations. Springer, Heidelberg.
• Tribe, J. (2020). The economics of recreation, leisure and tourism. Routledge.
• References to academic articles published on tourism journals.
• Lecture slides.

Teaching methods

Lectures, in-class exercises, and group works.

Assessment methods

The final mark is based on a written exam and group works. The ranges of grades are as follows:

• <18 not sufficient;
• 18-23 sufficient;
• 24-27 good;
• 28-30 very good;
• 30 Lode excellent.

Teaching tools

All materials can be found on https://virtuale.unibo.it/

Office hours

See the website of Lorenzo Masiero