The Contribution of Tourism to Economic Growth in Thua Thien Hue Province (Vietnam)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of tourism to economic growth in the Thua Thien Hue province during the period of 1997–2011. We used the growth of real gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of economic growth and then disaggregated it into economic growth generated by tourism and that generated by other industries. First, the paper presents a methodology for measuring the contribution of tourism to the economy of Thua Thien Hue and, second, we examined the impact of earnings from tourism on the economic growth (GDP) in the Thua Thien Hue province. We used unit root test, cointegration theory, error correction model (ECM) and Granger causality test in order to identify the relationship between tourism and GDP, both in long and short runs. Findings conclude that, tourism is one of important reason of economic growth in the Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. The results of this study suggest that government should focus on economic policies to promote tourism as a potential source of economic growth in that province in the Vietnam.