The economics of destination cards
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11235176 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sonia Messori (0000-0001-8998-8833, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, corresponding author), Alessandro Fedele (0000-0002-0528-0131, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano), Paolo Figini (0000-0003-3625-6828, Universitat de Barcelona) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 115 |
| Pages | 104036 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Annals of Tourism Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0160-7383 • E-ISSN: 1873-7722 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.annals.2025.104036 |
| OpenAlex | W4414482804 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 41 |
Destination cards have been recognized as effective tools for promoting tourism destinations. However, their role as mechanisms for coordinating tourism service providers within the destination remains underexplored. We address this gap by developing an enriched version of the Hotelling price competition model to investigate the welfare effect of destination cards. We assume that a destination with two price-setting attractions and one complementary good (transportation) introduces a card offering discounts on attractions and free access to local transportation. We find that the card is welfare-improving, although it also alters the pricing strategy of the attractions and, under certain conditions, might reduce tourist surplus. • Destination cards allow to exogenously introduce coordination within a destination. • We develop an enriched version of the Hotelling price competition model. • We investigate welfare effects with and without destination cards. • We show that total welfare never decreases and that producer surplus increases. • We derive conditions under which consumer surplus reduces
Competition (biology · Consumer welfare · Economic surplus · Price discrimination · Service (business · Service provider · Tourism · Welfare · Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing · Digital Platforms and Economics · Sharing Economy and Platforms
Tourism firms’ coordination unravelled
Should antitrust regulators be wary of inter-firm coordination agreements through a tourism destination card
Tale of two cities’ collaborative tourism marketing
A tourist kit ‘made in Italy’
Network, knowledge and relationship impacts on innovation in tourism destinations
An economic model for tourism destinations
Networks, clusters and innovation in tourism
Tourists’ motives and perceptions of destination card consumption
A contribution approach to price bundling in tourism
Spatial effects in regional tourism growth
When Hotelling meets Vickrey. Service timing and spatial asymmetry in the airline industry
Vertical Integration and Antitrust Policy
Smart destination cards as big data generators. A proposal for a checklist and its application to Trentino Guest Card
The Tragedy of the Anticommons
Analysing intra-destination movements and activity participation of tourists through destination card consumption
Factors affecting tourists' public transport use and areas visited at destinations
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |