Tourism Economics
Summary
Tourism economics examines how tourist flows and spending interact with destination economies and global markets. Core concerns include demand and supply determinants—such as income and price elasticities, transport and connectivity costs, destination image and innovation in information and communication technology—and how these factors shape expenditure allocation across accommodation, food, transport and activities. Models ranging from gravity formulations and demand-system econometrics to panel regressions and spatial simulations quantify tourism’s role in employment generation, infrastructure investment and multiplier effects. Recent scholarship emphasises resilience to shocks, adaptive capacity and governance frameworks that enable rapid recovery and sustainable growth in both urban agglomerations and peripheral regions.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Quantitative simulation studies have refined the measurement of tourism economic resilience in urban agglomerations. By integrating dynamic evaluation methods, spatial kernel density analysis and scenario modelling over multi-year periods, these works reveal wave-like recovery patterns, demonstrate how regional agglomeration and competition influence resilience levels, and pinpoint critical nodes for strategic investment. In the context of business tourism under pandemic conditions, analyses of the UAE MICE sector have identified adaptive survival strategies—including revised marketing mixes, outsourcing models and digital engagement—that mitigated demand collapse and established foundations for market rebound.
Tourism Economics publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in tourism economics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Income elasticity: The responsiveness of tourism demand or expenditure to changes in tourist income, with values above one indicating luxury-good behaviour.
Price elasticity: The sensitivity of tourist arrivals or spending to changes in prices or travel costs, informing pricing and taxation policies.
Tourism economic resilience: The capacity of tourism systems to absorb disturbances, adapt and return to pre-shock revenue and visitor levels.
Multiplier effect: The indirect and induced economic impact generated as tourism receipts circulate through local economies, stimulating further output and employment.
Gravity model: A framework predicting bilateral tourism flows based on the economic “mass” of origin and destination markets and the “distance” or cost separating them.
References
- Quantitative simulation and verification of the tourism economic resilience in urban agglomerations. Scientific Reports (2023).
- COVID-19 impact and survival strategy in business tourism market: the example of the UAE MICE industry. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2020).
- Travel purpose and expenditure patterns in city tourism: evidence from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. Journal of Cultural Economics (2017).
- Relations between infrastructure innovations and tourism spending in developed countries: a macroeconomic perspective. Technological and Economic Development of Economy (2021).
- The relationship between visitor satisfaction, expectation and spending in a sport event. Investigaciones Europeas de Dirección y Economía de la Empresa (2021).
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