The relationship between Short-Term Rentals and home purchase and rental prices is a hot and controversial research topic. This note analyzes the relationship between Short-Term Rentals, Purchase Prices, and Rental Prices of residential properties on the Costa Blanca (Spain). Using panel data techniques, the relationship between these variables is examined across 20 tourist municipalities for the period 2014-2024. The results suggest that the only consistent relationship operating in this context is from purchase prices to rental prices, which is consistent with an asset-pricing mechanism. Also, a short-term reverse causality from rental to purchase prices emerges at 6 months, suggesting an investment channel in which rental yield signals influence acquisition decisions. Conversely, limited evidence of the influence of short-term rental properties is found. These results raise doubts about the effect that regulations on short-term rentals may have on facilitating access to housing in these tourist destinations.
This study examines the evolution of persistence in regional tourism demand across Spain following the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis estimates fractional integration models with trends and seasonal components using monthly hotel arrivals from 1999 to 2025. Pre-pandemic tourism exhibited moderate persistence, with shocks ultimately mean-reverting across most regions. In contrast, estimates for the extended sample through August 2025 indicate systematically higher values of the fractional differencing parameter (d), particularly for non-resident tourism, implying slower mean reversion and more prolonged shock effects. Island and northern coastal regions register the largest increases in persistence, whereas domestic tourism remains comparatively stable. Overall, the results suggest that the inclusion of the COVID-19 period is associated with changes in the persistence and adjustment dynamics of regional tourism demand. The observed patterns are consistent with longer-lasting shock effects in some regions and visitor segments, especially in non-resident tourism flows.
In the digital age, while hospitality and tourism (H&T) firms accelerate digital transformation to stay competitive, the role of tourism trade associations as external resource providers in these firms' digital transformation process remains underexplored. Drawing on resource-based theory (RBT), this study examines how tourism trade associations influence H&T firms' digital transformation and explores the moderating effects of marketization and business climate. Using 2,049 firm-year observations of 144 publicly listed H&T firms (2009-2022), this study finds evidence suggesting that tourism trade associations facilitate digital transformation. Crucially, we find that marketization and business climate negatively moderate this relationship, indicating a substitution effect where tourism trade associations play a more vital compensatory role in regions with lower marketization and less favorable business climates. These findings highlight the critical role of firms in leveraging collective industry resources for technological advancement. Accordingly, our research provides theoretical contributions to RBT by extending its traditional firm-centric focus and enriching the digital transformation literature, as well as practical insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders.
The Travel and Leisure (T&L) sector and the airline industry are deeply interconnected parts of global financial markets. Understanding how T&L conditions shape airline stock returns across different market phases is essential for sound investment and risk management decisions. We hypothesize a bidirectional and asymmetric relationship that intensifies under extreme market conditions and over shorter time horizons. Using 1193 synchronized daily observations from 2 January 2015 to 26 June 2025, airline returns across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific are analyzed against regional and global STOXX T&L indices via the cross-quantilogram framework. Results confirm asymmetric dependence concentrated in joint extreme states, particularly during downturns and over the short term. Regional indices capture local market characteristics more effectively, while the global index suits internationally active airlines. Overall, airline and T&L interdependence is dynamic, driven by market regime and time horizon, with implications for risk assessment, portfolio construction, and broader tourism industry resilience.
This paper examines whether the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) program generates lasting tourism benefits for host cities. Using a panel of 642 European cities from 2005 to 2023, we estimate event-study difference-in-differences regressions to trace the evolution of tourism overnight stays in host cities before, during, and after designation. We find a significant rise in overnight stays of around 10% during the ECoC year, but no evidence of persistent effects in the subsequent years. The contemporaneous effect is stronger in cities with lower initial tourism levels, higher unemployment, or smaller populations. Interestingly, we find evidence of significant positive indirect effects on other cities within host countries. These results suggest that the program primarily operates as a temporary visibility shock rather than a catalyst for long-term destination transformation. The findings thus challenge legacy-based narratives, showing evidence that symbolic exposure fails to translate into durable tourism dynamics.
This study examines productivity dynamics in the U.S. casino gaming industry under economic crisis conditions using a double frontier data envelopment analysis framework. While traditional Malmquist productivity index approaches rely on optimistic efficiency frontiers, such methods may overstate resilience during downturns by overlooking inefficiency expansion. Using state-level data from twelve U.S. casino markets between 2006 and 2012, this study integrates both optimistic and pessimistic DEA perspectives to construct a double frontier Malmquist productivity index. The results reveal substantial divergence between optimistic and pessimistic productivity measures, particularly during the Great Recession, with several states exhibiting inefficiency-driven productivity decline that is not captured by conventional methods. By jointly accounting for frontier advancement and inefficiency dynamics, the proposed framework provides a more comprehensive assessment of productivity change. The findings highlight the importance of dual-frontier productivity measurement for evaluating tourism resilience, crisis preparedness, and regulatory stress-testing in gaming and other tourism-related industries.
A comprehensive assessment of extreme weather risks’ impact on tourism provides the scientific basis for climate-resilient tourism, yet research from the tourist-origin perspective remains limited. We establish a conceptual framework based on Protection Motivation Theory and present supporting empirical evidence. Using China Family Panel Studies data and extreme weather risk data, we demonstrate asymmetric effects: extreme high temperature elevates household tourism consumption, while extreme rainfall reduces it. Internet use significantly moderates the effects of extreme high temperature and extreme rainfall, while income moderates the extreme rainfall-consumption relationship. Married households and non-agricultural households demonstrate stronger negative reactions to extreme rainfall. Furthermore, the increase in extreme high temperature-driven consumption stems from additional consumption. This study offers specific tourism management implications in addition to enhancing the knowledge system regarding the extreme weather effects on tourism.
Integrating scarcity theory and the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model, this study develops a theoretical framework to investigate how UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps) influence domestic and inbound tourism in China. We further analyse their nonlinear (inverted U-shaped) effects and synergistic interactions with other prestigious designations-World Heritage Sites (WHS) and China's National 5A-level Tourist Attractions. Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces for the period 2000-2020, we find: (1) UGGps significantly boost both domestic and international tourist arrivals; (2) the impact on total and domestic arrivals follows an inverted U-shaped curve, indicating diminishing returns beyond an optimal level; and (3) co-location with National 5A-level attractions produces strong synergies, especially for domestic tourism. These results advance tourism theory by unravelling the interplay between scarcity and destination life cycles, while providing actionable guidance for geopark sustainability and policy development.
This paper examines distance decay in international tourism demand for East African destinations using bilateral panel data from 86 origin countries to 14 destinations over a 15-year period. Adopting a gravity model framework, the study extends conventional specifications by jointly incorporating geographical distance and airfare to distinguish between physical and economic dimensions of accessibility. The results confirm that distance negatively affects tourist arrivals, while cultural proximity variables significantly shape tourism flows. However, airfare partially mediate the impact of distance, indicating that travel cost does not fully substitute for spatial separation. Moreover, the relationship between distance and tourism demand is nonlinear, revealing multiple peaks in distance decay curves rather than the traditional single-peak pattern. These dynamics evolve over time, reflecting market diversification and improved connectivity across the region. By focusing on an underexplored African context, the study contributes new empirical insights into the complex spatial structure of tourism flows.
This paper revisits the canonical result that coordination among suppliers of complementary tourism services-such as accommodation, transport, and local activities-typically raises profits while increasing output and lowering consumer prices. We introduce a novel mechanism: labor market feedback. When firms share a common labor pool, coordination internalizes a cost externality that can overturn the traditional outcome. Extending the Cournot framework to include an upward-sloping labor supply, we show that under tight labor markets, coordination amplifies firms' dual market power in product and labor markets. This enables firms to restrict output, raise prices, and depress wages, even as profits rise. Our findings challenge the established "anticommons" logic and carry implications for destination management and competition policy.
The current academic system places strong emphasis on producing an unsustainably large quantity of publications, many of which offer limited novelty. As a result, academics lack the time and the incentives to build meaningful connections with industry. This paper is written as a personal reflection, supported by existing literature. It argues that if academics wish to have a tangible impact on future development, closer and more effective collaboration with stakeholders is essential. The paper focuses primarily on industry as a key stakeholder and provides an overview of research avenues that could help generate relevant knowledge. Overall, the paper calls for a rethinking of the role of academia in shaping future development, with particular emphasis on the social sciences and tourism as a field of inquiry.
In this study, we investigate the impact of physical and transition climate risks on international tourism demand in Europe. Using monthly data from 31 countries for the period 2005-2024, we find that both types of climate risk are significant determinants of tourism demand in Europe. Notably, the influence of physical risk is stronger than that of transition risk. The findings highlight the susceptibility of European tourism to climate change and have important implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders.
Tourism is a potentially important source of economic growth, but its sustainability has become a widespread concern. In the U.S., a lack of consistent indicators has precluded the measurement of sustainability over time and across locations. Here we propose using secondary data to develop a novel composite indicator while also addressing advantages and limitations of the survey-based approaches used in Europe to measure sustainability. We apply this indicator to recreation-dependent U.S. counties and find that while some counties improve across multiple sustainability dimensions, others experience inconsistent trends, highlighting the complex relationships between tourism development and local community well-being. We also use a subset of indicators to predict how these counties were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results using a nationally valid and consistent indicator suggest that tourism sustainability requires tailored local approaches to balance economic benefits with social and environmental dimensions, rather than one-size-fits-all strategies.
Doughnut Economics reimagines economic thinking, shifting away from the traditional focus on GDP growth, and instead emphasizes creation of an economy that meets human needs while staying within planetary boundaries. This paper explores the implications of the doughnut framework for tourism economics. It is argued that the model provides a robust foundation for rethinking tourism's relationship with natural resources and ecological processes. The paper analyzes the pathways that can guide progress toward the goals of social and planetary wellbeing, emphasising the potential of Doughnut Economics to inform sustainable development pathways for tourism.
While it is increasingly acknowledged that travel participation is affected not only by travel constraints but also by the personal importance of travel, the drivers of this perceived travel importance are still poorly understood. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1990-2021), this paper offers first exploratory evidence on the socio-demographic and psychological determinants of personal importance of travel. Travel importance increases with household income and decreases with ill health and the number of children. Women, first- and second-generation migrants, risk lovers, and those scoring higher on the personality traits of openness and extraversion also consider travel more important. The application of the age-period-cohort model suggests that the personal importance of travel declines with age and displays some variation across generations. These findings provide insights for tourism practitioners and policymakers seeking to understand which population groups consider travel more important and, consequently, are more likely to undertake travel.
This study examines the estimation of linear regression models for length of stay using on-site versus border-point samples. We show that Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) based on on-site samples is inconsistent, whereas OLS estimators from border-point samples are consistent. However, consistent estimates can be recovered from on-site samples by applying Weighted Least Squares. We also demonstrate that the inconsistency of OLS affects survival models that admit an Accelerated Failure-Time (AFT) specification. These findings challenge the validity of empirical studies relying on on-site samples and linear regression or survival models that admit an AFT formulation.
This study examines the determinants of tourism market diversification in 70 OECD and non-OECD countries, while considering the roles of institutional quality and financial development. A model of tourism diversification is developed using the novel method of moment quantile regression and estimated using data span of 24 years. The results show that improved institutional quality, financial development and an increase in average income of visitors lead to an increase in tourism market diversification in the full sample, OECD countries, and non-OECD countries. Increases in infrastructural facilities lead to lower tourism market diversification in the full sample and non-OECD countries, while generating more tourism market diversification in OECD countries. The results further indicate that appreciation of the local currency generates an increase in market diversification in non-OECD countries but a decrease in tourism market diversification in the OECD countries.
Digital payments are reshaping tourism in ways that extend beyond convenience or transaction efficiency. This research note argues that payment plays distinct yet interrelated roles across the tourism system: as an experiential touchpoint shaping tourists’ cognitive and affective evaluations, as a social access mechanism influencing inclusivity and perceived equity, and as a structural force that reconfigures power relations across the tourism value chain. By articulating these three conceptual propositions across micro (experience), meso (market access, equity, and participation), and macro (industry structure) levels, this note positions payment as an increasingly important yet underexplored research agenda for understanding the future of tourism.
This article examines the short- and medium-term effects of macroeconomic conditions at the time of graduation on the labour market integration of tourism university graduates. Using longitudinal data on 2616 graduates observed over 20 quarters post-graduation, we provide robust evidence that higher unemployment rates at labour market entry significantly impair subsequent career trajectories. Controlling for current macroeconomic conditions, we find that graduates entering the labour market during periods of high unemployment face increased odds of becoming inactive or unemployed in the medium term, along with a reduced likelihood of employment. These effects are explained by adverse economic conditions at entry, which limit opportunities for on-the-job training and skill acquisition, ultimately hindering career progression. We further show that these scarring effects do not differ between graduates holding a bachelor's degree and those with a master's degree, suggesting that postgraduate education does not provide additional protection against adverse entry conditions.
