TY - JOUR
T1 - Does the size of the tourism sector influence the economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
AU - Khalid, Usman
AU - Okafor, Luke Emeka
AU - Burzynska, Katarzyna
N1 - Funding Information:
This study is supported by the United Arab Emirates University under the Start-Up grant (# 31B126). This study is supported by the United Arab Emirates University under the Start-Up grant (# 31B126). The authors would like to thank Uzair Ahmed for his assistance in this research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented slowdown of economic activity worldwide, with an especially negative impact on the tourism sector. The adoption of international travel restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak has brought much of the global tourism industry to a virtual standstill. Governments have introduced a range of economic stimulus packages designed to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic, including its impact on travel and tourism. This article investigates whether the size of the tourism sector influences the economic policy response to COVID-19 pandemic using data from 136 countries. The findings show that the larger the tourism sector, the larger the economic stimulus package introduced by governments globally. Furthermore, we find that the size of the tourism sector is positively associated with both fiscal and monetary policy responses to the pandemic. The findings suggest that countries with larger tourism sectors adopted more aggressive economic stimulus packages to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and reinvigorate floundering economies.
AB - The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented slowdown of economic activity worldwide, with an especially negative impact on the tourism sector. The adoption of international travel restrictions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak has brought much of the global tourism industry to a virtual standstill. Governments have introduced a range of economic stimulus packages designed to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic, including its impact on travel and tourism. This article investigates whether the size of the tourism sector influences the economic policy response to COVID-19 pandemic using data from 136 countries. The findings show that the larger the tourism sector, the larger the economic stimulus package introduced by governments globally. Furthermore, we find that the size of the tourism sector is positively associated with both fiscal and monetary policy responses to the pandemic. The findings suggest that countries with larger tourism sectors adopted more aggressive economic stimulus packages to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and reinvigorate floundering economies.
KW - COVID-19
KW - coronavirus pandemic
KW - fiscal policy
KW - government stimulus package
KW - monetary policy
KW - tourism
KW - tourism sector recovery
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U2 - 10.1080/13683500.2021.1874311
DO - 10.1080/13683500.2021.1874311
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099719596
SN - 1368-3500
VL - 24
SP - 2801
EP - 2820
JO - Current Issues in Tourism
JF - Current Issues in Tourism
IS - 19
ER -