International tourism and economic vulnerability in Small Island Developing States

Small island developing States within the Asia-Pacific region contribute only marginally towards global emissions but face disproportionate levels of economic stress and heightened economic vulnerability because of the increased frequency of natural disasters. This paper investigates the effects of international tourism on economic vulnerability in five small island developing States from the Asia-Pacific region from 2003 to 2018. The results, which provide important policy implications, show that international tourism, economic growth and economic vulnerability are cointegrated, with both factors reducing economic vulnerability. The results also indicate unidirectional causality from international tourism to economic vulnerability.