From conservation to prosperity: a quantitative study on the positive correlation between sustainable tourism practices and economic growth

Chih-Hung Pai, Yin Zhang, Yu-Lan Wang, Yajun Wang and Yunfeng Shang

Current Issues in Tourism, 2025, vol. 28, issue 10, 1677-1700

Abstract: Tourism significantly influences world economies, necessitating sustainable business practices for long-term success. This study investigates the impact of sustainable tourism (ST) practices on economic growth (EG) using a questionnaire survey of 370 participants, analyzed with SPSS. Findings show that ST positively correlates with higher EG, especially when destinations emphasize responsible tourist development (TD), community involvement, and environmental conservation. Notably, environmental conservation measures have a significant positive impact on EG, underscoring the importance of effective implementation in sustainable practices. The study also highlights the nuanced influence of destination characteristics on the EG-sustainability relationship, with regional and contextual factors contributing to varied outcomes. This research provides novel insights into the complex connection between ST and EG, identifying strategic interventions to maximize positive impacts on both environmental conservation and economic development. Responsible TD strategies are shown to be crucial, demonstrating a sustained positive correlation with EG over time.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13683500.2024.2362379 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rcitxx:v:28:y:2025:i:10:p:1677-1700

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/rcit20

DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2024.2362379

Access Statistics for this article

Current Issues in Tourism is currently edited by Jennifer Tunstall

More articles in Current Issues in Tourism from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().