The linkage between tourism development and quality of life: A Copula-based Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) model

Abstract

This paper investigates relationships between international tourist arrivals to China and local residents’ quality of life (QOL). We employed Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) model based on the Gaussian Copula approach. Data on international tourist arrivals from Japan, South Korea, and Russia to China during 1994 and 2018 were employed in the model. Findings show direct impacts of inbound tourism on resident’s QOL. Moreover, result reveals an intrinsically reciprocal linkage between national economic growth and residents’ QOL across origins of tourists. Novel contributions of this paper include the robust and objective approach to estimate relationship between international tourism and QOL of local residents.