This paper undertakes an analysis of tourism expenditure in the Balearic Is
lands. for different market segments distinguishing between that made in th
e origin country and at the destination. This is accomplished through the u
se of regression models with dummy variables concerning the tourist charact
eristics. This appropriate methodology reflects the complexity of the mass
tourism phenomenon in the 90s. The analysis shows that the differences in e
xpenditure for various profiles are significant. This research enables one
to obtain the necessary information to implement more adequate tourism poli
cies in increasingly segmented markets. Keywords: Balearic Islands, Spain,
expenditure in the origin country, expenditure at the destination, expendit
ure patterns, microeconometric analysis. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.