ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF VISA RESTRICTIONS ON TOURISM: A CASE OF TWO EVENTS IN CHINA

Increasing attention has been paid to evaluate the impacts of large scale events on tourism demand. For providing policy suggestions, it should consider the economic impact of both events themselves and other factors. This paper evaluates the economic effects of visa restrictions on tourism as a result of the 1989 Tian’an Men Square Incident and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games by using an innovative combination of econometric and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. The results show that both events generated economic losses. The unexpected negative economic impact of the Beijing Olympics seems attributable to visa restrictions. Suggestions for the alleviation of the negative impact of visa regulations are provided.