Exploring Tourists’ Willingness to Pay in Lisbon’s Pay-What-You-Want Walking Tours

This thesis analyses tourists’s willingness to pay (WTP) during Free Walking Tours (FWTs) under the Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) Model, with the aim of capturing the factors that most influence their payment behaviour. The study is based on an anonymous and voluntary questionnaire, given to tourists at the end of each walking tour, designed to gain socio-demographical, psychological and tour-related insights. From a methodological perspective, several techniques were applied. First, to analyse the relationship between the WTP (both in the initial and final stages) and a set of explanatory variables, a logit regression was applied, classifying payments into low (0–10€) and medium-high (11-30€) ranges. Afterwards, important factors’ selection was implemented through a LASSO model used to determine the most relevant components, further tested using a logit model. Furthermore, in order to identify participants’ homogeneous profiles, a cluster analysis based on tour-related variables was conducted, with associations between clusters and variables verified through Chi-square and ANOVA tests. The logistic models showed that, before the tour, age and some psychological aspects had a greater impact, while after the experience, factors related to service and the guide took on more importance. A supplementary viewpoint to these findings was provided by the cluster analysis, which revealed three homogeneous tourist profiles that illustrate how these factors interact with each other identifying their spending behaviour. These profiles, despite the presence of statistical results that are sometimes not fully significant, offer useful ideas for the development of tailored marketing strategies, aimed at increasing the perception of value of the service and orienting payment behaviour.