Has the tourism-led growth hypothesis been validated? A literature review

Over 10 years have passed since the first paper on the tourism-led growth hypothesis
(TLGH) was published in 2002. Since then, a wave of studies has appeared trying to
understand the temporal relationship between tourism and economic growth. Hence,
it is possible to provide an assessment in terms of econometric methods used and
main empirical findings achieved so far. This paper presents an exhaustive review of
approximately 100 peer-reviewed published papers on the TLGH. An overview on
the economic theoretical framework behind the TLGH is also provided. Notably, the
results present an increasing diversification in the econometric modelling used. With
a few exceptions, the empirical findings suggest that overall international tourism
drives economic growth.