Analytical Review of Tourism Demand Studies from 1960 to 2014

This paper evaluates and analyzes tourism demand during the 1960-2014 periods by comparing different variables and methods in several countries and regions using various types of data. Objectives The purpose of this review is four fold. First, it aims to show the variables that continue to have an important influence on the tourism demand over time. Second, this review intends to identify a list of new approaches that could best explain the use of the tourism demand function for an area. Third, it is to show the main changes happening in the tourism objective with each passing day. Fourth, to explain and analyze why and how changes happen in the variables, techniques and objectives over time. Approach To accomplish these objectives this study reviewed and analyzed 400 journal articles published during the period from 1960 to 2014. Results The empirical result shows that despite the problems of applying the OLS technique and new methods that have recently emerged, it is still the OLS that provides the fundamentals in estimating and analyzing tourism demand in the literature. Findings This study found that despite the increasing significance of the role of exchange rates and traveling costs in tourism demand studies, the tourist income and tourism price remain the major determinants of tourism demand. Contribution This study is the first study on the subject of tourism demand to cover a significantly long period (1960 - 2014). It involved extensive reviews, analyses and data comparisons of variables and major findings from a sizeable sample of 400 published academic papers, which provided a comprehensive overview of tourism demand activities in the world during the past five decades.