Tourism demand : understanding its determinants and contribution to poverty reduction in Colombia : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Loading...
Files
Date
2019
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
Tourism has become a vital economic activity in Colombia and other Latin American nations.
As a large service sector, tourism contributes significantly to employment and is a key
instrument for the reduction of poverty in Colombia. This thesis empirically examines the
determinants of demand for tourism in Colombia and its contribution to poverty reduction.
The study investigates the factors that influence the destination choices of international
tourists, the risk factors, and whether man-made attractions for leisure and recreational
activities also increase domestic tourism. An important aspect analysed here focuses on
whether the effects of politically motivated violence on international tourists’ choices differ
for tourists from countries with different per capita income and from countries with trade
linkages with Colombia. The analysis contributes to enhancing tourism activities, markets of
international tourists and address the politically motivated violence.
The study further analyses the impact of provincial attributes that attract domestic tourists in
Colombia. Large increases in inbound and domestic tourists are associated with financial
development activities, growth in tourism expenditures, and reduction in monetary poverty.
The analysis involves then identification of factors that explain differences in tastes between
domestic tourists around man-made attractions for leisure and recreation. This chapter also
contributes to the scholarly literature that examines the effect of distance on domestic tourists’
preferences, and considers the extent to which distance can be moderated through man-made
attractions for leisure and recreation.
The third empirical chapter involves an assessment of the impact of tourism on poverty and
extreme poverty in the short and long run with further estimations at the provincial levels that
are economically lagging provinces. These evaluations contribute to the discussions on the
hypothesised positive impact of tourism to poverty reduction. The findings of this research
suggest some policy implications related to the need to increase the demand for international
and domestic tourism in Colombia through reduction of politically motivated violence
incidents, and increase in man-made visitor attractions for leisure and recreation, respectively.
Policy implications for sectoral approaches are crucial to improve growth in the tourism
sector for poverty reduction in Colombia and close the poverty gap between economically
lagging and economically leading provinces.
Description
Keywords
Tourism, Poverty, Colombia, Economic conditions, 21st century