Does the Tourism Development of a Destination Determine Its Socioeconomic Development? An Analysis through Structural Equation Modeling in Medium-Sized Cities of Andalusia, Spain

Abstract

Medium-sized European cities have been playing an increasingly significant role in the economic development of countries in recent decades, establishing themselves as genuinely specialized local production systems with great potential for stimulating the economy and generating added value. In many of these cities, in addition, tourism has become an incredibly strong economic activity with the capacity to stimulate local economies, as it contributes to the enhancement of endogenous resources and the generation of a multiplier effect on other economic sectors. This paper uses a structural equation model to demonstrate, first, that a direct relationship exists between tourism development and economic development and second, that, of all cities analyzed (medium-sized cities of Andalusia, Spain), those with a higher level of tourism development are actually those showing a higher level of socioeconomic development, which confirms that tourism has great potential as a tool for endogenous development.

The Impact and Spatial Spillover Effects of Tourism Development on Urban Welfare: Empirical Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta in China

“…(1) Economic welfare effects of TD. Established research substantiates that tourism can bolster the economic growth of a destination by generating foreign exchange earnings, stimulating domestic demand, attracting investments, and fostering industry integration, among other benefits [18,34]. While GDP growth cannot be directly equated with an increase in residents' income consumption levels, a robust material foundation is a crucial cornerstone for enhancing economic welfare [9].…”

“…(1) Economic welfare effects of TD. Established research substantiates that tourism can bolster the economic growth of a destination by generating foreign exchange earnings, stimulating domestic demand, attracting investments, and fostering industry integration, among other benefits [18,34].…”

“…In light of this, academics have begun to recognize the welfare effects of tourism development from this perspective. Based on theoretical derivation and empirical tests, relevant scholars have found that the high-quality development of tourism can play a crucial role in boosting regional economic growth [18], urbanization [19], social employment [20], and green development [21]. They have also analyzed its positive impacts on major national strategies such as poverty alleviation [3], rural revitalization [22], and common prosperity [23].…”

Sustainable tourism concept: tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty

“…Destination quality and tourist behavior can be affected by a variety of factors, including a city's ease of access, public infrastructure, costs of goods and services and tourism offerings and facilities (Ngoc & Trinh, 2015;Heung & Qu, 2020). Even though tourism can boost an area's economy (Lee & Xue, 2020;Parrilla-Gonz alez, 2021), it also has unintended consequences, such as driving up the cost of local goods and services (Hritz & Ross, 2010;Belsoy et al, 2012). As the tourism industry expands, so too may the challenges of coordinating the many parties involved in ensuring that it continues to grow in a responsible manner (Hatipoglu et al, 2016;Kapera, 2018).…”

The Impact of Tourism Promotion at Andalusian Eight Provinces

“…In tourism and aviation industries the new technologies, database, and digital communication tools are being used on the production inputs and outputs of commercial activities and decisionmaking processes. In this context, DMO managers need to create organizational structures that exploit the available data and produce, manage, and integrate information more effectively, and stimulate local economies [3,4,5], due to the sudden unprecedented fall in demand triggered by the Disclaimer/Publisher's Note: The statements, opinions, and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions, or products referred to in the content.…”