Sports tourists: sociodemographic, psychographic and situational influences on satisfaction and expenditure

Purpose This study aims to explore and evaluate how sociodemographic, psychographic and situational factors jointly determine the satisfaction and expenditure of sports tourists, two key variables for the sustainability and development of sport tourism. Design/methodology/approach To meet the objective of the study, structural equation modelling was applied to data collected through a face-to-face survey of 520 sports tourists practising outdoor sports in the Valle del Jerte region (Cáceres, Spain) during the months of March and April 2024. Findings The findings revealed that older and higher income tourists experienced higher levels of satisfaction with sporting activities. Specifically, young women with a high educational and economic level were found to have the highest expenditure in the sports destination. Furthermore, it was confirmed that authenticity, distance and water sports activities had a positive impact on visitor satisfaction, and that tourist expenditure was influenced by local connection and all sociodemographic and situational factors considered. Originality/value This analysis contributes to the sport tourism literature by combining factors of different typologies into a single model and by incorporating expenditure behaviour as a dependent variable and the type of sport activity variable as a situational factor affecting expenditure. This approach expands existing knowledge by providing a more comprehensive view of the effect of sociodemographic, psychographic and situational factors on sport tourism, allowing destination managers to design effective strategies that optimise the satisfaction and expenditure of sports tourists.