# Determination of Factors Influencing Road Transport Demand: Evidence from Croatia
## 4 Determination of Relevant Factors
This result is consistent with the annual GDP growth rate, which does not show significant statistical differences by NUTS 3 when excluding tourist activity;
* The trend of average annual changes in road traffic demand intensity shows a statistically significant and positive correlation with the annual changes in GDP growth rates of the Republic of Croatia and the EA12 countries, but not with the GDP of the entire European Union;
* The trend of average annual changes in road traffic demand intensity shows a statistically significant and positive correlation with the annual changes in industrial production volume, which is consistent with the results of a statistically significant correlation with GDP;
* The correlation analysis of average annual changes in road traffic demand intensity and consumer price indices did not reveal a statistically significant correlation, but the direction of the correlation is negative for the annual changes in the consumer price index;
* When it comes to wages, a statistically significant correlation was found between the annual changes in real net wage growth and the average annual changes in road traffic demand intensity, which indicates the significant influence of purchasing power on the level of motorization, as well as the intensity of personal car use;
* Following the above mentioned, the trend of average annual rates of change in road transport demand intensity has a statistically significant correlation with the annual rate of change in the number of registered road motor vehicles and passenger cars (level of motorization). This relationship also records the highest value of Pearson's correlation coefficient among all analyzed factors (81%);
* The registered unemployment rate did not show a statistically significant correlation with the average annual changes in the intensity of road transport demand;* The price of fuel, as well as its rate of change, is in the expected negative correlation with the average annual changes in the intensity of road transport demand, but this was not statistically significant;
* The annual rate of change in tourist arrivals (particularly domestic tourists) showed a statistically significant correlation with the average annual rate of change in the intensity of road transport demand, as well as the annual rate of change in overnight stays of domestic tourists (this is also confirmed by the fact that arrivals and overnight stays of domestic tourists correlate with the country's GDP);
* The population showed a negative correlation with the average annual rate of change in the intensity of road transport demand, but this was not statistically significant (this was expected, given the constant downward trend in population in Croatia during the analyzed period, which is not the case with the intensity of road transport demand);
* Road transport of goods (annual rates of change in transported goods) has a statistically significant correlation with the average annual rates of change in road transport demand intensity;
* Rail transport of goods shows a negative correlation that is not statistically significant. This can be attributed to the underdeveloped railway system (significantly lower volume of transported goods compared to road transport). The results of the Pearson correlation coefficient and statistical significance are presented in Table 1. A 95% confidence interval was used. Values highlighted in red in the table have statistical significance < 0.01, while values highlighted in orange have statistical significance between 0.01 and 0.05.