The Influence of Remoteness and Isolation in the Rural Accommodation Rental Price among Eastern and Western Destinations

Experiencing the context of a rural environment is the fundamental aspect of rural travel. In order to estimate quantitative influences of the rural environment, this paper proposes to proxy rurality through two indicators: isolation and remoteness. The estimation of a hedonic pricing model with the use of both Geographic Information Systems and spatial econometrics allows obtaining the specific influence of these factors on rural lodging room prices. The methodology is applied to two tourist destinations with similar characteristics from Eastern (Taiwan) and Western (Spain) cultures. Results show that visitors’ preferences for isolation are significant but differ between these two regions. The main reasons that explain this divergence are population density differences between origin and destination, domination of international versus domestic visitors, and the intrinsic destination characteristics and perceived image. Managerial recommendations on how to emphasize the factors in the promotion of accommodation services are derived from the present study.