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econometrics kup

Figure 9

Source: Author’s calculation.

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Travelers

(Mean thousands of visitors)

MNA (hi)

MNA (low)

SSA (hi)

SSA (low)

World (hi)

World (low)

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6. Final remarks

The econometric evidence presented in this paper provides support to the notion that the adoption of

digital platforms in the tourism industry has facilitated international travel. By reducing search costs and

providing travelers with more information about a given destination, digital platforms reduce the

monetary and non‐monetary costs of traveling (e.g., the time spent planning for a trip or the psychological

reticence to travel to an unknown country) and thus boost trade in international tourism services. A

gravity equation model, adapted from the trade literature to the case of tourism, provides a conceptual

framework to analyze how the digital economy affects the cost of traveling. A novel data set of bilateral

tourism flows and the adoption of digital platforms in tourism allows us to estimate the gravity equation.

The results suggest that as the adoption of digital tools increases, less traditional destinations may

overcome the lack of information and interest from foreign travelers, and abate traveling costs, thereby

attracting more visitors. As the paper shows, there is a positive correlation between tourist arrivals and

the size of the travel and tourism industry in the destination country, both in terms of employment and

GDP. Therefore, the adoption of digital tools, by inducing a greater demand for tourism services, helps

create jobs. Countries that have lagged the rest of the world in the adoption of digital technologies, such

as those in the Middle East and North Africa and Sub‐Saharan Africa, could spur economic activity in the

travel and tourism industry by leveraging such technologies.

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