TOURISM-LED ECONOMIC GROWTH HYPOTHESIS - AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION FOR SERBIA

As it is commonly believed that tourism contributes positively to economic growth, many developing countries rely on tourism in their efforts to enhance their economic conditions. Serbia has also given priority to the development of tourism industry as a part of its economic growth strategy. In this paper we analyze the long-term effects of tourism on the economic growth of Serbia. More specifically, the tourism-led economic growth (TLEG) hypothesis is tested, which implies that tourism is a trigger of Serbian economic growth. This study investigates the causal relations between tourism growth and economic expansion for the Serbian economy by using cointegration analysis. The obtained results show that the hypothesis of tourism-led economic growth in the Serbian economy is confirmed.