Does Economic Globalization Shape the International Tourism Structure? A Cross-National Panel Data Estimation

Abstract

Economic globalization, the primary mechanism of globalization, has driven the flourishing of international tourism. However, little research has empirically revealed how it affects international tourism from a structural perspective. Based on network theory, this study applies network analysis and fixed-effects panel data estimation techniques to examine the impact of economic globalization on the structure of international tourism and the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance as an inertia factor in this relationship. The statistics are derived from panel data for 47 countries from 1995 to 2018. The empirical results indicate that there is a positive relationship between economic globalization and countries’ network prominence in both outbound and inbound tourism, and the effects vary under different degrees of uncertainty avoidance. This study offers insights and practical implications for policymakers, tourism marketers, and transnational tourism corporations to formulate tourism recovery strategies against the de-globalization caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.