Is the Tourism-led Growth Thesis Valid? The Case of the Bahamas, Barbados, and Jamaica

This article seeks to investigate whether there is a causal relationship between tourism growth and economic growth in the Bahamas, Barbados, and Jamaica. Several empirical studies have advanced evidence to support the idea that tourism growth promotes economic growth in a number of countries. Using the cointegration test and a vector autoregression model, this article was able to establish that no equilibrium exists between tourism receipts and gross domestic product in any of the countries studied. The Granger Causality Test, however, does confirm the existence of a shortterm relationship.