Seasonality and Tourism

Seasonality is one of the key distinctive features of tourism-related phenomena. Seasonality in tourism [Page 1074]is characterized by regular and rather predictable changes over time of tourism-related aggregates (arrivals and overnight stays in accommodation establishments, hotels’ occupancy rates, traffic on highways and airports, lodging and transportation prices, etc.), which recur every year. Seasonal fluctuations in travel and tourism demand are relevant both for the travel and tourism industries and for destination managers. These fluctuations generally affect the efficiency of the entire tourism sector, which experiences periods of overutilization and periods of underutilization of resources. This makes the investigation of seasonality in terms of its causes, impacts, measurement, and policy implications one of the most investigated topics in tourism literature since the very beginning of the ...