Cultural Distance and Chinese Outbound Tourism: Exploring the Moderating Effect of Geographical Distance

Lei Qin (), Eddy S. Fang, Ivan Ka Wai Lai and Syed Abbas
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Lei Qin: Business School, North Minzu University, Yinchuan 750030, China
Eddy S. Fang: International Business School Suzhou, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215000, China
Ivan Ka Wai Lai: Faculty of International Tourism and Management, City University of Macau, Macau 999078, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: In this study, the gravity model is applied via the dynamic generalised methods of moments estimation to assess the role of geographical distance in moderating the impact of culture on outbound tourism flows. The results show that cultural distance has a positive impact on Chinese outbound tourism flow. However, the effect of cultural distance on outbound tourism flow decreases as geographical distance increases since travellers to nearby destinations are more strongly influenced by cultural distance than travellers to more distant markets. These results therefore support the concept of the “diminishing effect of cultural distance” on the Chinese outbound tourism market. In addition, the results of this study serve as a basis for promoting the sustained contribution of Chinese outbound tourism to the development of destination management, which will help with the recovery of international tourism following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: cultural distance; geographical distance; outbound tourism flow; gravity model; dynamic GMM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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