Research note: Re-examining the tourism-led growth hypothesis for Turkey

Since the 1980s, Turkey has given priority to the advancement and expansion of its tourism industry as part of achieving economic growth and development. This study empirically re-examines the possible causal relationships among tourism receipts, real exchange rate and economic growth by using annual data (1964-2006). Johansen multivariate cointegration analysis reveals the existence of a 'stable' and significant long-run equilibrium relationship among real GDP, tourism receipts and real exchange rate (RER). Granger causality tests based on the error correction model indicate a unidirectional causality from tourism receipts and RER to real GDP.