Tourism and Urban Transport: Holding Demand Pressure Under Supply Constraints

XREAP No. 2008-14

38 Pages Posted: 25 May 2011

See all articles by Daniel Albalate

Daniel Albalate

University of Barcelona

Germà Bel

University of Barcelona - Department of Political Economics

Date Written: December 1, 2008

Abstract

Scholars and local planners are becoming increasingly interested in the contribution of tourism to economic and social development. In the European cities that currently lead the world rankings for tourist arrivals, local governments have actively promoted tourism. Mobility is an essential issue for tourists visiting large cities, since it is a crucial factor for their comfort. It also facilitates the spread of benefits across the city. This study uses an international database of European cities to examine whether city planners respond to the additional demand for urban transport by extending service supply. Our results confirm that tourism intensity is a demand-enhancing factor in urban transport. However, cities do not seem to address this pressure by increasing services. Tourism appears to exert a positive externality on public transport, since it provides additional funding for these services, but it also imposes external costs on resident users because of the congestion caused by supply constraints.

Keywords: Tourism, Urban Transport, Local government

JEL Classification: H70, J68, L83, L98, R41

Suggested Citation

Albalate, Daniel and Bel, Germà, Tourism and Urban Transport: Holding Demand Pressure Under Supply Constraints (December 1, 2008). XREAP No. 2008-14, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1828644 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1828644

Daniel Albalate (Contact Author)

University of Barcelona ( email )

Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585
Barcelona, 08007
Spain

Germà Bel

University of Barcelona - Department of Political Economics ( email )

Av. Diagonal, 690
Barcelona, 08034
Spain

HOME PAGE: http://www.ub.edu/graap/beling.htm

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