This paper quantifies and compares the influence of two modes of transport on tourism, namely, high-speed rail (HSR) and air travel, and explores their substitute or complementary relationships. To facilitate the analysis, we apply data from 291 prefectural administrative cities in China from 2003 to 2019. Empirical tests show that both modes have a significant positive influence on the development of tourism. Moreover, the effect of air travel is greater than that of HSR. The findings remain robust and reliable with changes in the explanatory variables and sample size, and with regard to time window adjustment and endogeneity. Further, we explore the differences in the strength of the influences and find the two modes exhibit various effects according to regional heterogeneity. Finally, we investigate the joint effect of the two modes and find the existence of a substitute relationship. However, the relationship changes to complementary in specific areas. The findings of this paper provide important implications for the development of the regional tourism economy and the spatial layout of the transport infrastructure.
MassonS.PetiotR.Can the High Speed Rail Reinforce Tourism Attractiveness? The Case of the High Speed Rail between Perpignan (France) and Barcelona (Spain). Technovation, Vol. 29, No. 9, 2009, pp. 611–617.
2.
ChenZ.HaynesK. E.Impact of High-Speed Rail on International Tourism Demand in China. Applied Economics Letters, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2015, pp. 57–60.
3.
ZhangQ.ChenJ.GuanW.WangY.AhmedM.Asymmetric Impacts of Technology Innovation and Environmental Quality on Tourism Development in Emerging Economies. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 2021, pp. 1–17.
4.
AlbalateD.BelG.FagedaX.Competition and Cooperation between High-Speed Rail and Air Transportation Services in Europe. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 42, 2015, pp. 166–174.
5.
KhadarooJ.SeetanahB.The Role of Transport Infrastructure in International Tourism Development: A Gravity Model Approach. Tourism Management, Vol. 29, No. 5, 2008, pp. 831–840.
6.
KhadarooJ.SeetanahB.Transport Infrastructure and Tourism Development. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 34, No. 4, 2007, pp. 1021–1032.
7.
AbeyratneR. I.Air Transport Tax and its Consequences on Tourisms. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 20, No. 3, 1993, pp. 450–460.
8.
MartinC. A.WittS. F.Substitute Prices in Models of Tourism Demand. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 15, No. 2, 1988, pp. 255–268.
9.
SuM. M.WallG.The Qinghai–Tibet railway and Tibetan Tourism: Travelers’ Perspectives. Tourism Management, Vol. 30, No. 5, 2009, pp. 650–657.
10.
De RusG. The BCA of HSR: Should the Government Invest in High-Speed Rail Infrastructure?Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2011, pp. 1–28.
11.
AlbalateD.FagedaX.High-Speed Rail and Tourism: Empirical Evidence from Spain. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 85, 2016, pp. 174–185.
12.
GaoY.SuW.WangK.Does High-Speed Rail Boost Tourism Growth? New Evidence from China. Tourism Management, Vol. 72, 2019, pp. 220–231.
13.
AlderighiM.GaggeroA. A.Flight Availability and International Tourism Flows. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 79, 2019, p. 102642.
14.
PulinaM.Cortés-JiménezI.Have Low-Cost Carriers Influenced Tourism Demand and Supply? The Case of Alghero, Italy. Tourism Analysis, Vol. 15, No. 6, 2010, pp. 617–635.
15.
DobruszkesF.DehonC.GivoniM.Does European High-Speed Rail Affect the Current Level of Air Services? An EU-Wide Analysis. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 69, 2014, pp. 461–475.
16.
DobruszkesF.MondouV.Aviation Liberalization as a Means to Promote International Tourism: The EU–Morocco Case. Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 29, 2013, pp. 23–34.
17.
PagliaraF.MaurielloF.GarofaloA.Exploring the Interdependences between High-Speed Rail Systems and Tourism: Some Evidence from Italy. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 106, 2017, pp. 300–308.
18.
KongL. Z.LiJ. Y.The Opening of High-Speed Railway, Network Centrality and Tourism Economic Development. Industrial Economic Research, Vol. 5, 2021, pp.113–127.
19.
PapatheodorouA.LeiZ.Leisure Travel in Europe and Airline Business Models: A Study of Regional Airports in Great Britain. Journal of Air Transport Management, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2006, pp. 47–52.
20.
BehrensC.PelsE.Intermodal Competition in the London–Paris Passenger Market: High-Speed Rail and Air Transport. Journal of Urban Economics, Vol. 71, No. 3, 2012, pp. 278–288.
21.
JianH.PanH.XiongG.LinX.The Impacts of Civil Airport Layout to Yunnan Local Tourism Industry. Transportation Research Procedia, Vol. 25, 2017, pp. 77–91.
22.
MukimM.Geography and Exporting Behavior: Evidence From India. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper no. 5979. World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2012.
23.
RamukumbaT.MmbengwaV. M.MwamayiK. A.GroenewaldJ. A.Analysis of Local Economic Development (LED) Initiated Partnership and Support Services for Emerging Tourism Entrepreneurs in George municipality, Western Cape Province, RSA. Tourism Management Perspectives, Vol. 2, 2012, pp. 7–12.
24.
LópezM. F. B.VirtoN. R.ManzanoJ. A.MirandaJ. G. M.Residents’ Attitude as Determinant of Tourism Sustainability: The Case of Trujillo. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Vol. 35, 2018, pp. 36–45.
25.
PellegrinoF.Transport and Tourism Relationship. In Tourism in the Mediterranean Sea (GrassoF.SergiB. S., eds.), Emerald Publishing, Bingley, 2021, pp. 241–256.
26.
WangD. G.NiuY.QianJ.Evolution and Optimization of China’s Urban Tourism Spatial Structure: A High-Speed Rail Perspective. Tourism Management, Vol. 64, 2018, pp. 218–232.
27.
AlbalateD.CamposJ.JiménezJ. L.Tourism and High-Speed Rail in Spain: Does the AVE Increase Local Visitors?Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 65, 2017, pp. 71–82.
28.
YinP.LinZ.PrideauxB.The Impact of High-Speed Railway on Tourism Spatial Structures between Two Adjoining Metropolitan Cities in China: Beijing and Tianjin. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 80, 2019, p. 102495.
29.
BazinS.BeckerichC.DelaplaceM.High-Speed Railway, Service Innovations and Urban and Business Tourism Development. Economics and Management of Tourism: Trends and Recent Developments, 2011. Hal-02079165. https://hal.univ-reims.fr/hal-02079165. Accessed May 15, 2022.
30.
DelaplaceM.PagliaraF.PerrinJ.MermetS.Can High Speed Rail Foster the Choice of Destination for Tourism Purpose?Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 111, 2014, pp. 166–175.
31.
AlmeidaC.Low-Cost Airlines, Airports and Tourism. The Case of Faro Airport. Proc., 51st Congress of the European Regional Science Association: New Challenges for European Regions and Urban Areas in a Globalised World, Barcelona, Spain, 30 August–3 September 2011. https://hdl.handle.net/10419/120137. Accessed May 15, 2022.
32.
RobertoR. M.Tourism Service Quality Begins at the Airport. Tourism Management, Vol. 27, No. 5, 2006, pp. 874–877.
33.
KooT. T.LimC.DobruszkesF.Causality in Direct Air Services and Tourism Demand. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 67, 2017, pp. 67–77.
34.
ChowC. K. W.TsuiW. H. K.WuH.Airport Subsidies and Domestic Inbound Tourism in China. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 90, 2021, p. 103275.
35.
FuX.ZhangA.LeiZ.Will China’s Airline Industry Survive the Entry of High-Speed Rail?Research in Transportation Economics, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2012, pp. 13–25.
36.
LiH.StraussJ.LuL.The Impact of High-Speed Rail on Civil Aviation in China. Transport Policy, Vol. 74, 2019, pp. 187–200.
37.
YangH.BurghouwtG.WangJ.BoonekampT.DijstM.The Implications of High-Speed Railways on Air Passenger Flows in China. Applied Geography, Vol. 97, 2018, pp. 1–9.
38.
JiangC.ZhangA.Airline Network Choice and Market Coverage under High-Speed Rail Competition. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 92, 2016, pp. 248–260.
39.
XiaW.ZhangA.High-Speed Rail and Air Transport Competition and Cooperation: A Vertical Differentiation Approach. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Vol. 94, 2016, pp. 456–481.
40.
ZhangA.WanY.YangH.Impacts of High-Speed Rail on Airlines, Airports and Regional Economies: A Survey of Recent Research. Transport Policy, Vol. 81, 2019, pp. A1–A19.
41.
LiuS.WanY.HaH. K.YoshidaY.ZhangA.Impact of High-Speed Rail Network Development on Airport Traffic and Traffic Distribution: Evidence from China and Japan. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 127, 2019, pp. 115–135.
42.
ZenY. H.ChenJ.Heterogeneity Impact of High-Speed Rail Opening on Tourism Development of Station Cities – A Study Based on Difference-in-Difference Method. Tourism Science, Vol. 32, No. 6, 2018, pp. 79–92. (in Chinese).
43.
LiuF. J.ChenD. D.Research on the Structural Characteristics and Motivation of China’s Inbound Tourism Flow Network. Journal of Geography, Vol. 65, No. 8, 2010, pp. 1013–1024.
44.
ChenZ.Impacts of High-Speed Rail on Domestic Air Transportation in China. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 62, 2017, pp. 184–196.
45.
ZhangF.GrahamD. J.WongM. S. C.Quantifying the Substitutability and Complementarity between High-Speed Rail and Air Transport. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 118, 2018, pp. 191–215.
