The Role of UNESCO Cultural Heritage and Cultural Sector in Tourism Development: The Case of EU Countries

Blanka Skrabic Peric, Blanka Šimundić, Vinko Muštra and Marijana Vugdelija
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Blanka Šimundić: Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
Vinko Muštra: Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
Marijana Vugdelija: International Medical, Corps, 21000 Split, Croatia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Culture and tourism have always been related, but with blurred interpretations of the empirical relationship between those phenomena. This paper estimates the impact of different cultural indicators on tourism development in 27 EU member states for the period 2008–2018, by using dynamic panel data. The results indicate that the number of UNESCO Heritage Sites do not have a significant influence on the number of tourism overnights, whereas there are significant positive effects on international tourism receipts and tourism employment. Moreover, the additional cultural sector specifics considered in the analysis; government expenditure on culture and employment in culture, showed to have a significant positive influence on all three tourism indicators used in the research. In addition, the research results indicate that the real GDP per capita and the level of human capital are significant drivers of tourism development.

Keywords: UNESCO heritage; cultural sector; sustainable tourism development; panel data analysis; European Union (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:10:p:5473-:d:554148

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