IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i15p6671-d1449720.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental, Geographical, and Economic Impacts of Inbound Tourism in China: A Mixed-Effects Gravity Model Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Bo Zhu

    (School of Statistics, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan 030006, China)

  • Chien-Chih Wang

    (Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 243303, Taiwan)

  • Che-Yu Hung

    (Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 243303, Taiwan)

Abstract

This study examines the dynamics of inbound tourism in China, utilizing a mixed-effects gravity model to analyze data from urban clusters around China’s three major airports. The research methodology of the study includes applying advanced econometric techniques, such as the Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood estimation, to ensure robust and accurate results. The study focuses on international tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings, identifying key drivers such as tourism resources, transportation safety, and service quality. Our findings indicate a 10% increase in per capita GDP correlates with a 0.88% rise in inbound tourist numbers. Additionally, proximity to major urban centers like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou significantly influences tourist arrivals, with every 100 km increase in distance resulting in a 5.56% decrease in tourist numbers. The study also explores the impact of environmental factors on tourism, suggesting that improvements in green coverage and reductions in industrial waste and traffic fatalities could enhance tourist arrivals. Conversely, environmental protection measures can both positively and negatively impact tourism. This research provides a strategic blueprint for policymakers and professionals in tourism and environmental sustainability, emphasizing the importance of integrated environmental sustainability in tourism development strategies. The model accounts for up to 79% of the variability in inbound tourism flows, offering robust evidence that economic and policy dimensions impact tourism.

Suggested Citation

  • Bo Zhu & Chien-Chih Wang & Che-Yu Hung, 2024. "Environmental, Geographical, and Economic Impacts of Inbound Tourism in China: A Mixed-Effects Gravity Model Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-18, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6671-:d:1449720
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6671/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6671/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Recep Ulucak & Ali Gökhan Yücel & Salih Çağrı İlkay, 2020. "Dynamics of tourism demand in Turkey: Panel data analysis using gravity model," Tourism Economics, , vol. 26(8), pages 1394-1414, December.
    2. You-Hai Lu & Peixue Liu & Xiaowan Zhang & Jun Zhang & Caiyun Shen, 2022. "Spatial-Temporal Differences in the Effect of Epidemic Risk Perception on Potential Travel Intention: A Macropsychology-Based Risk Perception Perspective," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, December.
    3. Jaume Rosselló Nadal & María Santana Gallego, 2022. "Gravity models for tourism demand modeling: Empirical review and outlook," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1358-1409, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Malaj, Emi & Malaj, Visar, 2023. "Determinants of international tourism: Empirical evidence from three Mediterranean countries," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 9(2), pages 66-72.
    2. Meng-Chang Jong & Chin-Hong Puah & Mohammad Affendy Arip, 2024. "The Impact of Climate Change on Tourism Demand in China," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(3), pages 482-488, May.
    3. Hui Zhang & Li-qi Tian & Shu-jing Long & Ruo-bing Li & Yenchun Jim Wu, 2023. "Tourist Rescue in Natural Disasters," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    4. Burak Darici & Ahmet Aydin & Fatih Ayhan & Merve Altaylar, 2023. "Macroeconomic Determinants of Tourism Demand Toward Emerging Markets," Istanbul Journal of Economics-Istanbul Iktisat Dergisi, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 73(73-2), pages 837-864, December.
    5. Emrah Kocak & Fevzi Okumus & Mehmet Altin, 2023. "Global pandemic uncertainty, pandemic discussion and visitor behaviour: A comparative tourism demand estimation for the US," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(5), pages 1225-1250, August.
    6. Gualter Couto & Rui Alexandre Castanho & Carlos Santos & Pedro Pimentel & Áurea Sousa & Sandra Faria & Maria da Graça Batista, 2021. "Guidelines for Tourism Sustainability in Ultra-Peripheral Territories: A Research Based on the Azores Region’s Touristic Companies’ Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Sergej Gricar, 2023. "Tourism Forecasting of “Unpredictable” Future Shocks: A Literature Review by the PRISMA Model," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-13, November.
    8. Jaume Rosselló Nadal & María Santana Gallego, 2022. "Gravity models for tourism demand modeling: Empirical review and outlook," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(5), pages 1358-1409, December.
    9. Yugang He & Guihua Bai, 2023. "Quantifying the ‘Yellow Card Policy’ Effect: An Intervention Analysis of Chinese Tourist Migration to South Korea amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-15, November.
    10. Cui, Zhiwei & Fu, Xin & Wang, Jianwei & Qiang, Yongjie & Jiang, Ying & Long, Zhiyou, 2022. "How does COVID-19 pandemic impact cities' logistics performance? An evidence from China's highway freight transport," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 11-22.
    11. Karma Emiljan, 2023. "Patriotic Tourism Demand in Albania: A System GMM Model Approach," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 18(2), pages 186-196, December.
    12. Frank Wogbe Agbola & Tarik Dogru & Ulrich Gunter, 2020. "Tourism Demand: Emerging Theoretical and Empirical Issues," Tourism Economics, , vol. 26(8), pages 1307-1310, December.
    13. Rui Alexandre Castanho & Gualter Couto & Áurea Sousa & Pedro Pimentel & Maria da Graça Batista, 2021. "Assessing the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic over the Azores Region’s Touristic Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-14, August.
    14. Adedoyin, Festus Fatai & Bekun, Festus Victor & Driha, Oana M. & Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel, 2020. "The effects of air transportation, energy, ICT and FDI on economic growth in the industry 4.0 era: Evidence from the United States," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    15. Portella-Carbó, Ferran & Pérez-Montiel, Jose & Ozcelebi, Oguzhan, 2023. "Tourism-led economic growth across the business cycle: Evidence from Europe (1995–2021)," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1241-1253.
    16. Léopold T Biardeau & Mondher Sahli, 2024. "Investigating the non-linear impacts of seven types of natural disasters on inbound tourism: Insights from the EM-DAT database," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(4), pages 900-923, June.
    17. Dall'Erba, Sandy & Ridley, William & Zou, Jian & Chen, Youning, 2024. "Tracing US County-to-County Domestic Trade Flows in Grains," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343526, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Rosselló-Nadal, Jaume & Santana-Gallego, María, 2024. "Toward a smaller world. The distance puzzle and international border for tourism," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    19. Nikeel N Kumar & Arvind Patel & Rup Singh, 2022. "Modelling tourism competitiveness in small Pacific island countries," Tourism Economics, , vol. 28(3), pages 692-713, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6671-:d:1449720. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.