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Tourism in pandemic: the role of digital travel vouchers in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yingtong Chen

    (Southwestern University of Finance and Economics)

  • Fei Wu

    (Southwestern University of Finance and Economics)

  • Dayong Zhang

    (Southwestern University of Finance and Economics)

  • Qiang Ji

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges to the global economy, especially within the tourism industry. Economic downturns and psychological barriers make it even more challenging to attract tourists back. This paper explores the stimulating effect of digital travel vouchers on tourist mobility, as well as the heterogeneous effects of different vouchers modes. Using monthly data on tourist inflows in 306 cities from September 2020 to December 2021, collected by a web-crawling tool, and manually gathered information of digital travel vouchers issued during this period, our analyses show that digital travel vouchers can boost tourist inflows. Their effectiveness, however, depends on the method of issuance and the total number distributed. Furthermore, significant spillover effects among neighboring cities are found through a spatial econometric model.

Suggested Citation

  • Yingtong Chen & Fei Wu & Dayong Zhang & Qiang Ji, 2024. "Tourism in pandemic: the role of digital travel vouchers in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-03231-x
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-03231-x
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