Do countries’ geographical locations moderate the tourism-led economic growth nexus in sub-Saharan Africa?
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tourism Economics
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 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
Description
Research Article
Keywords
dynamic panel models, economic growth, sub-Saharan Africa