IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/toueco/v26y2020i8p1358-1373.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of freedom on international tourism demand: Empirical evidence from the top eight most visited countries

Author

Listed:
  • Umit Bulut

    (Kirsehir 187470Ahi Evran University, Turkey)

  • Emrah Kocak

    (52958Erciyes University, Turkey)

  • Courtney Suess

    (14736Texas A&M University, USA)

Abstract

The present study investigates the impact of freedom (i.e. the effects of political rights and civil liberties) on tourist arrivals for the eight countries with the highest tourist arrivals in 2016 (France, the United States, Spain, China, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Mexico), using annual data from 1998 to 2016, through advanced panel data methods. Notably, the key strengths of this study are as follows: (i) it examines the impact of institutional quality on international tourism demand for the most visited countries and (ii) it employs advanced panel data techniques, which have been suggested in recent years. We first constituted a freedom index using political rights and civil liberties data. Second, we performed cross-sectional dependence (CD) tests to examine whether there existed CD in the panel data set. After detecting the presence of CD, we used panel unit root and cointegration tests, which are robust to CD to avoid problems from spurious regression. Finally, we estimated long-run parameters of the empirical model through a panel data estimator that is capable of presenting efficient and unbiased output in the presence of CD. Our empirical findings show that the level of freedom may play a role in explaining the volume of international tourist arrivals. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed in the study, particularly with respect to the importance of rights and freedom in the context of international inbound tourist arrivals.

Suggested Citation

  • Umit Bulut & Emrah Kocak & Courtney Suess, 2020. "The effect of freedom on international tourism demand: Empirical evidence from the top eight most visited countries," Tourism Economics, , vol. 26(8), pages 1358-1373, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:26:y:2020:i:8:p:1358-1373
    DOI: 10.1177/1354816619896957
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1354816619896957
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1354816619896957?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. Clee, Mona A & Wicklund, Robert A, 1980. "Consumer Behavior and Psychological Reactance," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 6(4), pages 389-405, March.
    2. Joakim Westerlund, 2008. "Panel cointegration tests of the Fisher effect," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 193-233.
    3. Dickey, David A & Fuller, Wayne A, 1981. "Likelihood Ratio Statistics for Autoregressive Time Series with a Unit Root," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(4), pages 1057-1072, June.
    4. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    5. Balli, Faruk & Balli, Hatice O. & Jean Louis, Rosmy, 2016. "The impacts of immigrants and institutions on bilateral tourism flows," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 221-229.
    6. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    7. M. Hashem Pesaran & Aman Ullah & Takashi Yamagata, 2008. "A bias-adjusted LM test of error cross-section independence," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 11(1), pages 105-127, March.
    8. Pesaran, M. Hashem & Vanessa Smith, L. & Yamagata, Takashi, 2013. "Panel unit root tests in the presence of a multifactor error structure," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 175(2), pages 94-115.
    9. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2021. "General diagnostic tests for cross-sectional dependence in panels," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 13-50, January.
    10. Jayoti Das & Cassandra Dirienzo, 2010. "Tourism Competitiveness and Corruption: A Cross-Country Analysis," Tourism Economics, , vol. 16(3), pages 477-492, September.
    11. Martins, Luís Filipe & Gan, Yi & Ferreira-Lopes, Alexandra, 2017. "An empirical analysis of the influence of macroeconomic determinants on World tourism demand," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 248-260.
    12. Choi, In, 1994. "Durbin-Hausman tests for cointegration," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 467-480, March.
    13. Alexi Thompson, 2011. "Terrorism and Tourism in Developed versus Developing Countries," Tourism Economics, , vol. 17(3), pages 693-700, June.
    14. Emrah KOÇAK & Nısfet UZAY, 2018. "Democracy, Economic Freedoms and Economic Growth: An Investigation on the Role of Institutions," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 26(36).
    15. Muhammad Shahbaz & Ronald Ravinesh Kumar & Stanislav Ivanov & Nanthakumar Loganathan, 2017. "The nexus between tourism demand and output per capita with the relative importance of trade openness and financial development," Tourism Economics, , vol. 23(1), pages 168-186, February.
    16. Rey, Belén & Myro, Rafael L. & Galera, Asun, 2011. "Effect of low-cost airlines on tourism in Spain. A dynamic panel data model," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 163-167.
    17. Andrea Saayman & Melville Saayman, 2015. "An ARDL Bounds Test Approach to Modelling Tourist Expenditure in South Africa," Tourism Economics, , vol. 21(1), pages 49-66, February.
    18. Colin Cannonier & Monica Galloway Burke, 2019. "The economic growth impact of tourism in Small Island Developing States—evidence from the Caribbean," Tourism Economics, , vol. 25(1), pages 85-108, February.
    19. Lee, Seul Ki & Sok (Frank) Jee, Won & Funk, Daniel C. & Jordan, Jeremy S., 2015. "Analysis of attendees' expenditure patterns to recurring annual events: Examining the joint effects of repeat attendance and travel distance," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 177-186.
    20. Abdulnasser Hatemi-J & Rangan Gupta & Axel Kasongo & Thabo Mboweni & Ndivhuho Netshitenzhe, 2018. "Does tourism cause growth asymmetrically in a panel of G-7 countries? A short note," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 45(1), pages 49-57, February.
    21. Gholipour, Hassan Fereidouni & Tajaddini, Reza & Al-mulali, Usama, 2014. "Does personal freedom influence outbound tourism?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 19-25.
    22. Dogru, Tarik & Sirakaya-Turk, Ercan & Crouch, Geoffrey I., 2017. "Remodeling international tourism demand: Old theory and new evidence," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 47-55.
    23. Eberhardt, Markus & Bond, Stephen, 2009. "Cross-section dependence in nonstationary panel models: a novel estimator," MPRA Paper 17692, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    24. Seojin Lee, 2015. "Research Note: Quality of Government and Tourism Destination Competitiveness," Tourism Economics, , vol. 21(4), pages 881-888, August.
    25. Christoph Vietze, 2011. "What's Pushing International Tourism Expenditures?," Tourism Economics, , vol. 17(2), pages 237-260, April.
    26. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Kumar, Ronald Ravinesh & Ivanov, Stanislav & Loganathan, Nanthakumar, 2015. "Nexus between Tourism demand and output per capita with relative importance of trade and financial development: A study of Malaysia," MPRA Paper 67226, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 11 Oct 2015.
    27. Stauvermann, Peter Josef & Kumar, Ronald Ravinesh, 2017. "Productivity growth and income in the tourism sector: Role of tourism demand and human capital investment," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 426-433.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Umut Uzar, 2021. "The relationship between institutional quality and ecological footprint: Is there a connection?," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(4), pages 380-396, November.
    2. 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.
    3. Oluwatosin Adeniyi & Terver T Kumeka & Samuel Orekoya & Wasiu Adekunle, 2023. "Impact of tourism development on inclusive growth: A panel vector autoregression analysis for African economies," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(3), pages 612-642, May.
    4. Faruk Balli & Hung Do & Hina Uqaili, 2024. "The decomposition of tourism demand and tourism receipts," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(5), pages 1339-1348, August.
    5. Emrah Koçak & Tarik Dogru & Khurram Shehzad & Umit Bulut, 2023. "The economic implications of the COVID-19 outbreak on tourism industry: Empirical evidence from Turkey," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(3), pages 742-758, May.
    6. Sakiru Adebola Solarin & Sinan Erdogan & Ugur Korkut Pata & Mustafa Tevfik Kartal, 2024. "Modeling the determinants of tourism diversification: An empirical analysis for Australia," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(8), pages 2002-2020, December.
    7. 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.
    8. Muhammad Zubair Chishti & Daniel Balsalobre Lorente & Umit Bulut, 2024. "Exploring the Nexus Between Information And Communication Technologies, Globalization, Terrorism, and Tourism for South Asian Economies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 1318-1343, March.
    9. Canh Phuc Nguyen & Binh Quang Nguyen, 2023. "Does the shadow economy matter for tourism consumption? New global evidence," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(2), pages 729-773, August.
    10. Canh P Nguyen, 2023. "Last chance to travel or safety first? The influence of exposure to natural hazards and coping capacities on tourism consumption," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(4), pages 952-985, June.
    11. Haoke Ding & Yinghua Ren & Wanhai You, 2022. "Does uncertainty granger-causes visitor arrivals? evidence from the MF-VAR model," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4193-4215, December.

    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. 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. Tarik Dogru & Umit Bulut & Ercan Sirakaya-Turk, 2021. "Modeling tourism demand: Theoretical and empirical considerations for future research," Tourism Economics, , vol. 27(4), pages 874-889, June.
    3. Adekoya, Oluwasegun B. & Oliyide, Johnson A. & Fasanya, Ismail O., 2022. "Renewable and non-renewable energy consumption – Ecological footprint nexus in net-oil exporting and net-oil importing countries: Policy implications for a sustainable environment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 524-534.
    4. Dong, Kangyin & Sun, Renjin & Hochman, Gal & Li, Hui, 2018. "Energy intensity and energy conservation potential in China: A regional comparison perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 782-795.
    5. Kassouri, Yacouba & Altuntaş, Mehmet & Alola, Andrew Adewale, 2022. "The contributory capacity of natural capital to energy transition in the European Union," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 617-629.
    6. Ulucak, Recep & Danish, & Ozcan, Burcu, 2020. "Relationship between energy consumption and environmental sustainability in OECD countries: The role of natural resources rents," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Yilmaz Bayar & Marius Dan Gavriletea, 2019. "Energy efficiency, renewable energy, economic growth: evidence from emerging market economies," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 2221-2234, July.
    8. Durusu-Ciftci, Dilek & Ispir, M. Serdar & Kok, Dundar, 2019. "Do stock markets follow a random walk? New evidence for an old question," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 165-175.
    9. Bayar, Yilmaz, 2016. "Economic Freedom and Unemployment in Emerging Market Economies," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 11(1), pages 5-12, June.
    10. Yilmaz BAYAR, & Naib ALAKBAROV, 2016. "CORRUPTION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT INFLOWS IN EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES Usak University, Department of Economics, Usak, Turkey," EcoForum, "Stefan cel Mare" University of Suceava, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Public Administration - Economy, Business Administration and Tourism Department., vol. 5(2), pages 1-47, July.
    11. Ünal Seven & Dilara Kilinc & Yener Coskun, 2018. "Does Credit Composition have Asymmetric Effects on Income Inequality? New Evidence from Panel Data," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Sencer Atasoy, Burak, 2017. "Testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis across the U.S.: Evidence from panel mean group estimators," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 731-747.
    13. Ehigiamusoe, Kizito Uyi & Lean, Hooi Hooi & Smyth, Russell, 2020. "The moderating role of energy consumption in the carbon emissions-income nexus in middle-income countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    14. Dong, Kangyin & Sun, Renjin & Li, Hui & Liao, Hua, 2018. "Does natural gas consumption mitigate CO2 emissions: Testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for 14 Asia-Pacific countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 419-429.
    15. Degirmenci, Tunahan & Yavuz, Hakan, 2024. "Environmental taxes, R&D expenditures and renewable energy consumption in EU countries: Are fiscal instruments effective in the expansion of clean energy?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    16. Xueying Huang & Yuanjun Han & Xuhong Gong & Xiangyan Liu, 2020. "Does the belt and road initiative stimulate China’s inbound tourist market? An empirical study using the gravity model with a DID method," Tourism Economics, , vol. 26(2), pages 299-323, March.
    17. Yilmaz Bayar & Marius Dan Gavriletea, 2018. "Foreign Direct Investment Inflows and Financial Development in Central and Eastern European Union Countries: A Panel Cointegration and Causality," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-13, May.
    18. 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.
    19. Qiao, Hui & Chen, Siyu & Dong, Xiucheng & Dong, Kangyin, 2019. "Has China's coal consumption actually reached its peak? National and regional analysis considering cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    20. Mouna Ben Abdeljelil & Christophe Rault & Fateh Belaïd, 2023. "Economic growth and pollutant emissions: new panel evidence from the union for the Mediterranean countries," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1537-1566, June.

    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:toueco:v:26:y:2020:i:8:p:1358-1373. 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.