Abstract
This study extends tourism demand research by focusing on how an important psychological factor, risk aversion, affects tourism participation and expenditure. Based on five waves of national longitudinal data from the China Household Financial Survey, this study represents an initial attempt in the tourism literature to integrate a Heckman model with a hierarchical age–period–cohort model to decompose the effects of time-related factors (age, period, and birth cohorts) when analyzing the role of risk aversion in tourism decisions. Findings showed that risk aversion significantly influenced tourism participation and expenditure. The propensity to travel and the amount of tourism expenditure each declined over one's lifetime. Period and cohort effects differentially affected tourism participation and expenditure.
•Risk aversion affects tourism participation and expenditure negatively.•Age, period and cohort significantly impact tourism participation and expenditure.•Demographic variables moderate the effects of risk aversion on tourism decisions.•Age-period-cohort analysis integrating with a Heckman model is novel in tourism.