Does domestic tourism influence Covid-19 cases and deaths

Bibliographic Data

ID21699201
AuthorsRobin Nunkoo (0000-0002-3583-9717, University of Mauritius, corresponding author), Hassan D Kalantari (0000-0003-3972-0788, Swinburne University of Technology), Hassan F Gholipour (0000-0003-4714-8144, Western Sydney University)
Year2022
Volume25
Issue3
Pages338-351
Publication date2022-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCurrent Issues in Tourism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1368-3500 • E-ISSN: 1747-7603
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13683500.2021.1960283
OpenAlexW3193173271
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited50

Motivated by the current local travel restrictions imposed by most countries around the world, we examine the relationship between domestic travels and the COVID-19 cases and deaths. We use data from more than 90 countries and apply multivariate regressions for two different periods (January–June 2020 and July–December 2020). We control for a number of variables, including the Covid-19 Government Response Stringency Index, which is very comprehensive in its conceptualization. Using 2SLS estimators, we provide evidence that countries with higher levels of domestic travels experienced higher levels of COVID-19 cases and deaths over the first six months of pandemic. However, domestic tourism decorrelated with the pandemic spread from July to December 2020. Theoretically, we demonstrate that during the early stages of Covid-19, domestic tourism is potentially a vector of the virus spread, but once a country is hit by the pandemic, other local factors take precedence. Practically, these findings provide empirical support to governments policies to restrict residents’ non-essential domestic travels to reduce spreading the virus during the first few months of the pandemic

Conceptualization · Development economics · Domestic tourism · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Pandemic · Tourism · Tourism geography · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts · Medicine · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy

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