Local spending patterns of tourists in Greater Budapest and the Lake Balaton tourism regions: An exploratory study on the non-accommodation budget across Airbnb and hotel guests

In this exploratory research the local spending differences between the customers of hotels and Airbnb apartments in two Hungarian regions are studied. In this context, the non-accommodation budget of the tourists was focused. The tourists were asked about the share of their non-accommodation spending on local goods and services, providing the basis for comparison in terms of local spending propensity. Primary data was collected through a survey that yielded 103 responses. It was hypothesized that the Airbnb apartment customers spend a larger share of their non-accommodation budget on local goods and services compared to hotel customers. To prove this, Student’s t-test, using RStudio statistical software was applied. The results of the test (p < 0.05) demonstrated the significant difference while box plots provided further confirmation. The findings of this study can assist policy makers aiming to boost tourism while mitigating its negative effects on the local economy.