Urbanization, tourism revenue growth and regional non-equilibrium

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze regional correlation contributions of urbanization rate and tourism revenue, based on the dynamic panel data from 2000 to 2010 of 31 provinces in China. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the Modified Cobb-Douglas and fixed effect regression models, the study analyzes the dynamic panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2010. The paper conducts tests on the correlation and the economic influence between urbanization rate and tourism revenue in different regions. Findings – The empirical results show that on the national scale, the urbanization rate has a positive contribution to the increase rate of tourism revenue with 3.1 percent. The influence of urbanization on tourism revenue in different regions has considerable non-equilibrium characteristics. In the central region, the correlation contributing potential is even stronger than in the eastern and western regions. Different regions have significant regional disparities in the tourism growth pattern. Originality/value – On the national scale, the urbanization rate has a positive correlation contribution to the development of tourism economics. Urbanization has made remarkable achievements, and has played an important role in propelling the development of tourism industry. In the process of deepening the urbanization trend, the urbanization rate has a positive contribution to the increase rate of tourism revenue with 3.1 percent.