The Impacts of Different Air Pollutants on Domestic and Inbound Tourism in China.

Xiaowei Xu,Daxin Dong,Shiying Wang,Yilun Wang

doi:10.3390/ijerph16245127

Abstract

Previous studies have reported that air pollution negatively affects the tourism industry. This paper attempted to answer the following question: among different air pollutants, which one acts as the most adverse factor? The study was based on a sample of panel data covering 337 Chinese cities for the period between 2007 and 2016. Four pollutant indicators were inspected: PM (particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in size), PM (particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in size), SO (sulfur dioxide), and NO (nitrogen dioxide). It was found that PM had a significantly negative impact on both domestic and inbound tourist arrivals. Regarding the other three pollutant indicators, except for the negative influence of NO on inbound tourist arrivals, no statistically significant impact was found. This study suggests that tourism policy makers should primarily focus on PM, when considering the nexus between air quality and tourism development. According to our estimates, the negative impact of PM on tourism is substantial. If the PM concentration in the ambient air increases by 1 g/m (= 0.001 mg/m), domestic and inbound tourist arrivals will decline by 0.482% and 1.227%, respectively. These numbers imply an average reduction of 81,855 person-times in annual domestic tourist arrivals and 12,269 in inbound tourist arrivals in each city.

Highlights

In recent years, the tremendous industrial growth of the Chinese economy has caused high levels of air pollution in some regions
To address the above literature gap, this study aimed to examine the impact of air pollution on the tourism industry by taking into account four major air pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and
As reported in column (1) of the table, the coefficient of PM2.5 was −4.815, statistically significant at the 1% level. This implies that if the PM2.5 density increased by 1 μg/m3 (=0.001 mg/m3 ), domestic tourist arrivals would decline by 0.482%

Summary

Introduction

The tremendous industrial growth of the Chinese economy has caused high levels of air pollution in some regions. It was reported that air pollution has caused an average of 1.1 million premature deaths in China annually [1]. Air pollution inhibits many economic and social activities. The adverse effect of air pollution on tourism has received increasing attention. Pollution damages tourism’s development by evoking negative psychological states in tourists, reducing the aesthetics of scenic spots, harming the tourist experience, and decreasing tourism’s demand (e.g., [2,3,4])

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Discussion

Conclusion