ECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL DETERMINANTS OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISM DEMAND IN THE ECOWAS REGION

Abstract

This study examines the economic and institutional determinants of international tourism demand in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. The study employs a static panel regression model using annual data between the years 2000 and 2015 across all countries in the West African region. The empirical result suggests that real effective exchange rate, level of corruption, income of international tourists, relative price of tourism and insecurity have a significant impact on the level of tourism demand in the ECOWAS region at 1%,10%,1%,1% and 5% significant level respectively. The signs of the parameters of the variables show that income and political instability have positive impact on the tourism demand while relative price, corruption and insecurity have negative impact on the tourism demand in the region. The study recommends government, authorities in charge of crime prevention (security agencies) and other key players (both private and public) to team up and map out plans to tackle terrorism and insecurity in the West African region; the region should consider adopting single currency to stabilize prices; and ensure effective communication is maintained so that tourists are adequately informed about dangerous zones.