When Infrastructure Pushes Residents Out

High‐Speed Rail and Tourism Outflows

Bibliographic Data

ID21353046
AuthorsDavid Boto‐garcía (0000-0001-8065-0983, Department of Economics University of Oviedo Oviedo Spain, corresponding author), José F Baños (0000-0002-3685-7909, Department of Economics University of Oviedo Oviedo Spain), José Francisco Baños‐Pino (Universidad de Oviedo), Alejandro Cazón‐Flores (Department of Economics University of Oviedo Oviedo Spain)
Year2026
Publication date2026-03-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Regional Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-4146 • E-ISSN: 1467-9787
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jors.70061
OpenAlexW7138837953
LanguageEN
References cited76

This paper examines the impact of high‐speed rail (HSR) connectivity on both inbound and outbound tourism inflows. Leveraging the opening of a new HSR line connecting a northern Spanish region with mainland Spain, we employ a triple difference‐in‐differences design combined with inverse probability weighting (IPW) to evaluate the causal effect of transport infrastructure developments on tourist trips in a left‐behind area. Using fine‐grained mobile phone positioning data for 168 municipalities over a 36‐month period, we find that while the HSR did not increase inbound tourism, it significantly boosted outbound trips among residents in municipalities with direct access to the HSR network. Our findings point to a siphoning effect, whereby improved connectivity facilitates the outflow of local tourists without attracting additional visitors. Furthermore, our analysis highlights spatial heterogeneity in treatment effects, driven by geographical proximity to HSR stations

Mainland · Mainland China · Mobile phone · Phone · Point (geometry) · Port (circuit theory) · Tourism · TRIPS architecture · Aviation Industry Analysis and Trends · Transportation and Mobility Innovations · Urban and Freight Transport Logistics

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