The relationships of certain economic factors to tourism demand as observed in touristic interactions between Japan, West Germany, The United Kingdom, and the United States

The purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the degrees and directions of changes in number of tourists from one country and each of the three other countries (the dependent variable) and the annual values of (1) the national mean disposable income of the country of origin, (2) the currency exchange rate between the two countries of interest (as measured by the number of units of the visited country's currency which are equivalent to one unit of the visiting country's currency), and (3) the relative cost of touristic services in the destination countries compared to the originating countries, (as measured by the consumer price index of the visited country divided by the consumer price index of the country of origin). The perceptions of tourists about currency exchange rates between their country and the destination countries, cost of touristic services, and destination information and the channels through which it reaches them were also of interest in this study.;Results. The findings from the secondary data revealed that the degrees of changes in number of tourists from one country visiting a particular country and the annual values of (1) the national mean disposable income of the country of origin, (2) the currency exchange rate between the two countries of interest, and (3) the relative cost of touristic services in the destination countries compared to the originating countries were different from country to country.;This research was able to identify some of the mean differences in perceptions of tourists from West Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States about the cost of touristic services, currency exchange rates, and the importance of sources of information in affecting their decisions to visit Thailand. In addition, the study found that the three factors mentioned were important in influencing the tourists from the four countries studied to visit Thailand. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)...