The role of transport infrastructure in international tourism development: A gravity model approach

We employ a gravity framework to evaluate the importance of transport infrastructure in determining the tourism attractiveness of destinations. The analysis is based on a panel data set of bilateral tourism flows among 28 countries over the decade 1990-2000. We find that, on top of tourism infrastructure and other classical determinants, transport infrastructure is a significant determinant of tourism inflows into a destination. Disaggregated continent-wise analysis reveals that the sensitiveness of tourism flows to transport infrastructure does vary, depending on origins and destinations. We also find evidence of repeated tourism around the world, the more so from high-income origins and to high-income destinations. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.