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

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 2 . 5 (particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or less in size), PM 10 (particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in size), SO 2 (sulfur dioxide), and NO 2 (nitrogen dioxide). It was found that PM 2 . 5 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 2 on inbound tourist arrivals, no statistically significant impact was found. This study suggests that tourism policy makers should primarily focus on PM 2 . 5 , when considering the nexus between air quality and tourism development. According to our estimates, the negative impact of PM 2 . 5 on tourism is substantial. If the PM 2 . 5 concentration in the ambient air increases by 1 μ g/m 3 (= 0.001 mg/m 3 ), 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.

Evaluating the Impact of Air Pollution on China’s Inbound Tourism: A Gravity Model Approach

“…Although the core finding of this study on the harmful influence of air pollution in China is qualitatively consistent with the findings of Dong et al [27], Xu et al [29], and Zhou et al [31], the estimated effect of air pollution in this study is quantitatively different from that reported in previous studies. Particularly, the estimated negative impact is much stronger than that reported by Liu et al [16] and Xu et al [29], who also took PM 2.5 as the indicator of air pollution. Since this study utilized a sample covering almost all Chinese regions and focused on recent years, the results may better reflect the general situation in China in the recent period.…”

“…Zhou et al [31] focused on Beijing City, and reported that, if PM 10 density increased by 1 µg/m 3 , inbound tourist arrivals in Beijing would decline by 0.33%. Differently from these two studies, Xu et al [29] reported that the response of inbound tourist arrivals to PM 10 pollution was not significant statistically, based on a sample covering 337 cities. However, they found that inbound tourists were sensitive to PM 2.5 pollution.…”

“…A set of studies have quantitatively revealed the harm of local air pollution to inbound tourism in China. The studies included Becken et al [24], Deng et al [26], Dong et al [27], Tang et al [17], Xu and Reed [28], Xu et al [29], Zhou et al [30], and Zhou et al [31] on different districts in Mainland China; Cheung and Law [32] and Law and Cheung [33] on the Hong Kong SAR of China; and Chen et al [34] on the Sun Moon Lake scenic area in the Taiwan Province of China.…”

“…PM 2.5 is one of the most significant air pollutants, well known by the public. Previous studies have reported that PM 2.5 heavily harms public health and the tourism experience (e.g., [29,[47][48][49][50][51][52]). Thus, in Equation (1), the variables AirPollution it and AirPollution jt refer to the annual average density of PM 2.5 pollutant (µg/m 3 ).…”

Statistical Modeling of the Early-Stage Impact of a New Traffic Policy in Milan, Italy

“…The negative impact on society is not limited to health only. There is increasing evidence showing that bad air quality in general, and high NO 2 concentrations in particular, impact the economy, including finance [9] and tourism [10]. The present paper analyses the introduction of the first phase of an air quality control policy in the municipality of Milan, which started on 25 February 2019 and directly acts on traffic rules.…”