THE CAUSAL NEXUS BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

A bootstrap panel Granger causality test is applied to examine the causal relationship between international tourism receipts and economic growth in China's 12 western regions for the period from 1995 to 2015, accounting for both dependency and heterogeneity across regions. The empirical results of this study support evidence for the growth hypothesis in the regions, such as Guangxi, Tibet, and Shaanxi. A reverse relationship supports evidence on the conservation hypothesis for the regions, such as Chognqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. A reciprocal causal relationship was found in Guangxi and Tibet, whereas the result of a neutrality hypothesis supported 5 of these 12 western regions (i.e., Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang). The empirical findings of this study provide important policy implications for China's 12 western regions.