Impact of high-speed rail on international tourism demand in China

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of the Chinese high-speed rail (HSR) systems on its international tourism demand. A panel data set of 21 countries over the period 1997 to 2012 is analysed using dynamic panel modeling following the classical tourism demand model. The empirical examination confirms the overall impact of HSR is positive, but the small elasticity of HSR station on international tourism demand may imply the negligible influence of the large number of small HSR stations.

Keywords:

• high-speed rail
• international tourism demand
• China

JEL Classification:

• B23
• C23
• L92
• N75

Notes

¹ Although debatable, according to the definition of the International Union of Railways, the Guangzhou–Shenzhen line is generally regarded as the first HSR service in China, given its top speed reaches 200 km/h.

² A plausible indicator for measuring transport cost is the distance between the origin country and destination country. Given the fact this is a time-invariant variable, such an effect could be controlled for in the fixed-effect model in our analysis.