Does Tourism Reduce Income Inequality Empirical Evidence for Turkiye

Abstract

Income inequality poses a significant risk to societal harmony. While tourism presents numerous economic prospects, the ongoing discussion regarding its impact on income inequality persists. Assessing the potential of leveraging the growth in the tourism industry to address income disparities will have significant ramifications for Turkiye, a prominent player in the tourism sector. Hence, this study examines the influence of tourism on the disparity of wealth in Turkiye spanning the years 1995 to 2020. The RALS-EG method is used to examine this impact. According to the information obtained, while an increase in the GDP variable increases income inequality, an increase in the FDI variable leads to a decrease in income inequality. The tourism variable, which is the main subject of the study, has a negative sign and a 1 unit increase in tourism causes a 0.03% decrease in income inequality.