The nexus of aviation and tourism growth in the South Pacific region

Abstract

This study investigates the role of the aviation industry on tourism growth in the South Pacific Region (SPR) by reviewing tourism developments in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The panel two-stage least squares (2SLS) model is applied to analyse tourists from Australia and New Zealand into the sampled countries. The findings suggest that the aviation industry positively influences tourists travelling into the region. Tourism demand in the region is not very sensitive to income level of source markets. Our study justifies government support for the SPR’s aviation sector, and calls for regional cooperation between the aviation and tourism sectors.