Academic tourism demand in Galicia, Spain

The last few decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the mobility of higher education students. When fulfilling certain conditions, this type of mobility can actually be considered a type of tourist activity. This paper justifies the choice of the term “academic tourism” to describe such a form of tourism. Further to this, its primary purpose is to identify the main determinants that drive the demand of academic tourism in Galicia. An empirical analysis has been carried out using a dynamic panel data model by a generalized method of moments (GMM). Contrary to what can be observed in other types of tourism, the results suggest that academic tourism depends mainly on determinants that are not strictly economic; namely, the relevance of the habits and preferences of students, the potential for differential attractiveness of the University of Santiago de Compostela, and the significant impact of the Erasmus programme. In light of these results, policy implications are then discussed.