Kantaro TAKAHASHI
Doctoral Student of Tokyo Metropolitan University

This study addresses the configuration of economies dominated by the tourism industry and investigates whether tourism-led growth applies to them. The results show that small countries tend to base their economy largely on tourism. High tourism industry shared countries are also likely to have low economic openness and established domestic markets. Additionally, economically booming countries are unlikely to be tourism-dominated. In summary, the tourism-led growth hypothesis applies to small countries with established domestic economies and limited economic openness, while it may not apply to developing countries, especially those in the process of an economic boom.

Keywords: Tourism economic impact; Tourism-led growth hypothesis, Binary Model, Small States Economies