The effects of national and international tourism on income inequality: evidence from Asia-Pacific economies

Abstract

PurposeThis paper explores the effect of tourism (national and international) indicators on income inequality in a sample of 21 Asia Pacific economies.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses panel data set from 1995 to 2020 and employs panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method for the empirical investigation.FindingsThe empirical findings from the panel ARDL models suggest that all of the considered tourism indicators have significant negative impacts on income inequalities. The results remain consistent with alternative indicators and methods.Social implicationsThe findings of this study will be critical for the policymakers to take effective measures to reduce the income inequality. Such measures could include promoting tourism in general, focusing on attracting international tourists or domestic tourists, and putting more weight on developing leisure or business tourism, which will boost the overall economic performance and alleviates inequalities in the society.Originality/valueThis is the first study to consider various forms of tourism indicators to see their impact on income inequality in the Asia–Pacific region, and offers important implications for the policy actions.