Gravity Model Calibration of Tourist Travel to Las Vegas

Abstract

A gravity model is used to study tourist travel to Las Vegas. Per capita income, unemployment, largest metropolitan area population, a potential measure of nearness to other population centers, and proximity to Reno, together with distance from Las Vegas, are used to explain an area's per capita Las Vegas tourism during May and June 1970.The model is calibrated for registrations at Strip hotels, Strip motels, Casino Center hotels, and Casino Center motels during these months. Distance from Las Vegas is a statistically significant inhibitor to tourism in all cases; per capita income, Reno proximity and surrounding potential, a surrogate for alternative travel opportunities, enter significantly into the regression equations for most cases. Unemployment and largest SMSA size are significant in only a few cases.