Are Malaysia's Tourism Markets Converging? Evidence from Univariate and Panel Unit Root Tests with Structural Breaks

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, the tourism sector has emerged as an important source of foreign exchange for Malaysia. This paper applies univariate and panel Lagrange multiplier (LM) unit root tests with one and two structural breaks to examine whether Malaysia's ten most important tourist markets are converging. The study finds strong evidence that Malaysia's tourism markets are converging. Based on these findings, implications are drawn about the success of the marketing strategies of Tourism Malaysia and the prospects for the continuing contribution of tourism to the Malaysian economy.