The effects of tourism on EU regional cohesion: a comparative spatial cross-regressive assessment of economic growth and convergence by level of development

Abstract

This research explores the implications of tourism for the regional cohesion of the European Union (EU). The performance of domestic and inbound tourism is tested statistically, taking into account the regions’ level of development and both direct and spill-over effects. The study therefore addresses a subdimension of tourism economic sustainability by focussing on the distribution of its effects. Within a tourism augmented conditional convergence framework, spatial cross-regressive models are estimated using the System Generalised Method of Moments. The unbalanced panel data set mainly comes from Eurostat’s regional statistics database and covers 258 regions for the period 2000–2016. Our findings indicate that domestic tourism is a better instrument for enhancing the territorial cohesion of the EU, especially for less developed and transition regions. Inbound tourism clearly hinders the convergence of these regions and has negative direct and spill-over effects on them. Inbound tourism also acts as a drag on the economic growth of more developed neighbouring regions. Policy implications include actions to support SME competitiveness, technological development and innovation, sustainable transport and network infrastructures, training and social inclusion. These areas are thematic objectives of the EU regional policy. Particular attention should be paid to coordinating the measures implemented under them.