Do countries’ geographical locations moderate the tourism-led economic growth nexus in sub-Saharan Africa?

Francis Baidoo, Elikplimi Komla Agbloyor, Vera Ogeh Lassey Fiador, Nana Amaniampong Marfo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Debates on the intricacies of tourism’s potential contribution to economic growth remain imperative and unsettled in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Employing dynamic models and multiple robust estimation techniques, this article empirically tests the tourism-led growth hypothesis (TLGH) in the case of SSA. Further investigations on how countries’ geographical locations influence the TLGH are conducted. With panel data – spanning from the year 2000 through 2016 – on 40 SSA countries, which were regrouped into coastal, landlocked and islands, the study establishes evidence in support of the TLGH for the full sample. After geographical classifications, tourism’s impact on economic growth is, however, observed to be significantly positive for only landlocked and coastal countries. Surprisingly, the impact of tourism on economic growth is significantly negative for islands within the subregion. The findings hold policy implications for the pursuit of tourism-led growth in the SSA region.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1009-1039
Number of pages31
JournalTourism Economics
Volume28
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • dynamic panel models
  • economic growth
  • sub-Saharan Africa
  • system generalised method of moments
  • tourism dynamics

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