How Does Emotional Solidarity Factor into Visitor Spending among Birders in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas?

Abstract

While most work focusing on emotional solidarity has examined its antecedents, this work highlights outcomes of the construct in the form of visitor expenditures among nature tourists. During the peak tourist season for birders and other outdoor enthusiasts in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, on-site survey data were collected from individuals visiting key nature tourist attractions. In examining the relationship between emotional solidarity and visitor expenditures, results revealed that five of the eight multiple regression models were significant. Of the three Emotional Solidarity Scale (ESS) factors used to predict expenditures, feeling welcomed explained the most variance. This work provides continued support for extending Durkheim’s model of emotional solidarity by including expenditures as an outcome of the construct.

Keywords

nature tourism Lower Rio Grande Valley (Texas)multiple regression visitor expenditures confirmatory factor analysis birders

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