IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v14y2024i2p21582440241261676.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does the Visa-Free Policy Promote Inbound Tourism? Evidence From China

Author

Listed:
  • Jiafeng Gu

Abstract

A visa-free policy is a tool for attracting foreign tourists, but existing studies evaluating its effects do not consider spatial spillover. This study, therefore, examined the effects of visa policies on urban inbound tourism with spatial spillover. This study used the implementation of the 72-hr visa-free transit policy in China as a natural experiment and employed a spatial difference-in-differences approach. The results show that the implementation of the 72-hr visa-free transit policy had no significant effect on the number of foreign tourists, but can reduce the average length of stay for foreign tourists. It also shows that there is a significant spatial spillover effect on the flow of foreign tourists. The results indicate the importance of spatial spillover in the evaluation of the impact of visa policy on inbound tourism, providing empirical evidence for further improving visa-free policies and urban tourism development.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiafeng Gu, 2024. "Does the Visa-Free Policy Promote Inbound Tourism? Evidence From China," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:2:p:21582440241261676
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440241261676
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440241261676
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440241261676?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Song, Haiyan & Gartner, William C. & Tasci, Asli D.A., 2012. "Visa restrictions and their adverse economic and marketing implications – Evidence from China," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 397-412.
    2. Gao, Yanyan & Su, Wei, 2019. "Is the World Heritage just a title for tourism?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Tien Duc Pham & Son Nghiem & Larry Dwyer, 2018. "The economic impacts of a changing visa fee for Chinese tourists to Australia," Tourism Economics, , vol. 24(1), pages 109-126, February.
    4. Daniel Felsenstein & Michael Beenstock & Ziv Rubin, 2015. "Visa Waivers, Multilateral Resistance and International Tourism: Some Evidence from Israel," ERSA conference papers ersa15p187, European Regional Science Association.
    5. Neiman, Brent & Swagel, Phillip, 2009. "The impact of post-9/11 visa policies on travel to the United States," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 86-99, June.
    6. Kosfeld, Reinhold & Mitze, Timo & Rode, Johannes & Wälde, Klaus, 2021. "The Covid-19 containment effects of public health measures - A spatial difference-in-differences approach," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 126127, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    7. Jin, Yu & Xi, Haonan & Wang, Xuhui & Ren, Xin & Yuan, Libin, 2022. "Evaluation of the Integration Policy in China: Does the Integration of Culture and Tourism Promote Tourism Development?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Bin Wang & Wenzhong Shi & Zelang Miao, 2015. "Confidence Analysis of Standard Deviational Ellipse and Its Extension into Higher Dimensional Euclidean Space," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, March.
    9. Jiafeng Gu, 2023. "Do neighbours shape the tourism spending of rural households? Evidence from China," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(13), pages 2065-2069, July.
    10. Qiu, Richard T.R. & Wu, Doris Chenguang & Dropsy, Vincent & Petit, Sylvain & Pratt, Stephen & Ohe, Yasuo, 2021. "Visitor arrivals forecasts amid COVID-19: A perspective from the Asia and Pacific team," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    11. Balli, Faruk & Balli, Hatice Ozer & Cebeci, Kemal, 2013. "Impacts of exported Turkish soap operas and visa-free entry on inbound tourism to Turkey," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 186-192.
    12. Muhammad Halley Yudhistira & Yusuf Sofiyandi & Witri Indriyani & Andhika Putra Pratama, 2021. "Heterogeneous effects of visa exemption policy on international tourist arrivals: Evidence from Indonesia," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(4), pages 703-720, June.
    13. Chantha Hor, 2021. "Tourism Endowments, Institution Quality, and Inbound Tourists: A Panel Analysis of ASEAN," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-15, May.
    14. Zhenzhi Yang & Taohong Li, 2020. "Does high-speed rail boost urban tourism economy in China?," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(16), pages 1973-1989, August.
    15. Jiafeng Gu, 2023. "Do neighbours shape the tourism spending of rural households? Evidence from China," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(13), pages 2217-2221, July.
    16. Jia, Ruining & Shao, Shuai & Yang, Lili, 2021. "High-speed rail and CO2 emissions in urban China: A spatial difference-in-differences approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. Jiafeng Gu, 2021. "Determinants of biopharmaceutical R&D expenditures in China: the impact of spatiotemporal context," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 6659-6680, August.
    18. Cem Işık & Ekrem Aydın & Tarik Dogru & Abdul Rehman & Ercan Sirakaya-Turk & Deniz Karagöz, 2022. "Innovation Research in Tourism and Hospitality Field: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, June.
    19. Barry Reilly & Tsegay Gebrekidan Tekleselassie, 2018. "The role of United States Visa Waiver Program on cross-border travel," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 61-65, January.
    20. Reinhold Kosfeld & Timo Mitze & Johannes Rode & Klaus Wälde, 2021. "The Covid‐19 containment effects of public health measures: A spatial difference‐in‐differences approach," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 799-825, September.
    21. Ji Guo & Xianhua Wu & Yingying Guo & Yinshan Tang & Michael D. Dzandu, 2021. "Spatiotemporal impact of major events on air quality based on spatial differences-in-differences model: big data analysis from China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 107(3), pages 2583-2604, July.
    22. Huayan Weng & Yongchao Gao & Xinyi Su & Xiaodong Yang & Fangyan Cheng & Renfeng Ma & Yanju Liu & Wen Zhang & Liwen Zheng, 2021. "Spatial-Temporal Changes and Driving Force Analysis of Green Space in Coastal Cities of Southeast China over the Past 20 Years," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    23. Ahmed Rabeeu & Chen Shouming & Md Abid Hasan & Disney Leite Ramos & Abdul Basit Abdul Rahim, 2021. "Assessing the Recovery Rate of Inbound Tourist Arrivals Amid COVID-19: Evidence from the Maldives," International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 7(6), pages 7-15, September.
    24. Jiafeng Gu, 2021. "Spatiotemporal context and firm performance: The mediating effect of strategic interaction," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 371-391, March.
    25. Yu Zhang & Jin-he Zhang & Qing Tian, 2021. "Virtual Water Trade in the Service Sector: China’s Inbound Tourism as a Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-20, February.
    26. Antonio García-Sánchez & Ester Fernández-Rubio & M. Dolores Collado, 2013. "Daily Expenses of Foreign Tourists, Length of Stay and Activities: Evidence from Spain," Tourism Economics, , vol. 19(3), pages 613-630, June.
    27. Jiafeng Gu, 2021. "Effects of Patent Policy on Outputs and Commercialization of Academic Patents in China: A Spatial Difference-in-Differences Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, December.
    28. Robert A. Lawson & Saurav Roychoudhury, 2016. "Do travel visa requirements impede tourist travel?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 40(4), pages 817-828, October.
    29. Butts, Kyle, 2023. "JUE Insight: Difference-in-differences with geocoded microdata," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    30. Andrés Artal-Tur & Vicente J. Pallardó-López & Francisco Requena-Silvente, 2016. "Examining the impact of visa restrictions on international tourist flows using panel data," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 43(2 Year 20), pages 265-279, December.
    31. Jie Wen & Clem Tisdell, 1996. "Spatial Distribution of Tourism in China: Economic and other Influences," Tourism Economics, , vol. 2(3), pages 235-250, September.
    32. Xinshu Zhao & John G. Lynch & Qimei Chen, 2010. "Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths about Mediation Analysis," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 197-206, August.
    33. Munir Ahmad & Nadeem Akhtar & Gul Jabeen & Muhammad Irfan & Muhammad Khalid Anser & Haitao Wu & Cem Işık, 2021. "Intention-Based Critical Factors Affecting Willingness to Adopt Novel Coronavirus Prevention in Pakistan: Implications for Future Pandemics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-28, June.
    34. Zhangyu Shi & Dehong Xu & Lidi Xu, 2021. "Spatiotemporal characteristics and impact mechanism of high-quality development of cultural tourism in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-19, June.
    35. Liu, Yaping & Li, Yinchang & Parkpian, Parnpree, 2018. "Inbound tourism in Thailand: Market form and scale differentiation in ASEAN source countries," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 22-36.
    36. Jihwan Yeon & SeungHyun “James” Kim & Kyungho Song & Jinwon Kim, 2022. "Examining the impact of short-term rental regulation on peer-to-peer accommodation performance: a difference-in-differences approach," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(19), pages 3212-3224, October.
    37. Michael Beenstock & Daniel Felsenstein & Ziv Rubin, 2015. "Visa waivers, multilateral resistance and international tourism: some evidence from Israel," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 357-371, November.
    38. Hira Arain & Liyan Han & Arshian Sharif & Muhammad Saeed Meo, 2020. "Investigating the effect of inbound tourism on FDI: The importance of quantile estimations," Tourism Economics, , vol. 26(4), pages 682-703, June.
    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. Rosselló, Jaume & Santana-Gallego, María, 2024. "The effect of visa types on international tourism," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Jiafeng Gu, 2024. "The impact of national tourism day festivals on inbound tourism: A spatial difference-in-differences approach," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(2), pages 417-441, March.
    3. Jiafeng Gu, 2021. "Effects of Patent Policy on Outputs and Commercialization of Academic Patents in China: A Spatial Difference-in-Differences Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Jiafeng Gu, 2024. "Neighborhood Does Matter: Farmers’ Local Social Interactions and Land Rental Behaviors in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, January.
    5. Muhammad Halley Yudhistira & Yusuf Sofiyandi & Witri Indriyani & Andhika Putra Pratama, 2021. "Heterogeneous effects of visa exemption policy on international tourist arrivals: Evidence from Indonesia," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(4), pages 703-720, June.
    6. Chi, Pei-Yu & Lee, Kuei-Chun & Chang, Kuo-I, 2022. "Causal effect of tourist visa exemption schemes on international tourist arrivals," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 427-449.
    7. Kwan Ok Lee & Hyojung Lee, 2022. "Public responses to COVID‐19 case disclosure and their spatial implications," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(3), pages 732-756, June.
    8. Silke Hamann & Annekatrin Niebuhr & Duncan Roth & Georg Sieglen, 2023. "How does the Covid‐19 pandemic affect regional labor markets and why do large cities suffer most?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(5), pages 1228-1250, November.
    9. Jiafeng Gu, 2024. "The impacts of the low-carbon city policy on urban air pollution in China," Energy & Environment, , vol. 35(5), pages 2431-2450, August.
    10. Manuel Denzer & Philipp Grunau, 2024. "The impacts of working from home on individual health and well-being," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 25(5), pages 743-762, July.
    11. Tekleselassie, Tsegay Gebrekidan, 2016. "Three essays on the impact of institutions and policies on socio-economic outcomes," Economics PhD Theses 1316, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    12. Shanmugavel, Nagarajan & Balakrishnan, Janarthanan, 2023. "Influence of pro-environmental behaviour towards behavioural intention of electric vehicles," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    13. Luo, Haohan & Wang, Haijun & Wu, Ying, 2024. "Digital financial inclusion and tourism development," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 207-219.
    14. Roxanne Kovacs & Maurice Dunaiski & Janne Tukiainen, 2023. "The effect of compulsory face mask policies on community mobility in Germany," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 125(4), pages 1027-1055, October.
    15. Tien Duc Pham & Son Nghiem & Larry Dwyer, 2018. "The economic impacts of a changing visa fee for Chinese tourists to Australia," Tourism Economics, , vol. 24(1), pages 109-126, February.
    16. Samuel de Haas & Georg Goetz & Sven Heim, 2021. "Measuring the effects of COVID-19-related night curfews: Empirical evidence from Germany," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202118, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    17. Cooper, Daniel & Garga, Vaishali & Luengo-Prado, María José & Tang, Jenny, 2023. "The mitigating effect of masks on the spread of Covid-19," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    18. Kevin Credit & Matthew Lehnert, 2024. "A structured comparison of causal machine learning methods to assess heterogeneous treatment effects in spatial data," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 483-510, October.
    19. Xi Wu & Adam Blake, 2023. "Does the combination of models with different explanatory variables improve tourism demand forecasting performance?," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(8), pages 2032-2056, December.
    20. Tsuyoshi Goto & Nobuo Akai, 2017. "Benefit and Cost of Visa relaxation -Empirical Analysis on the Impact of Visa waiver-," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 17-10, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.

    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:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:2:p:21582440241261676. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.