The effects of motivations to go to the country on rural accommodation choice: A hybrid discrete choice model

Based on the theory of constructive consumer choice process, we propose that the rural accommodation choice process depends on motivations of tourists to go to the country. Discrete choice models have frequently been used to explain and predict choices from a set of finite alternatives, such as the choice of accommodation, but using only cognitive attributes as explanatory variables. The hybrid discrete choice (HDC) model also allows us to take into account unobservable or latent variables, like the motivations, and incorporate them through a multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) model. Data collected in Murcia (Spain) from a stated choice survey are used to estimate a multinomial logit model and two specifications of the HDC model. Our results find that motivations affect the probability of accommodation rural choice. Furthermore, the effect of the motivations is different depending on the attributes of the accommodation.