Tourism resources and economic growth: Evidence from Global Geoparks

This paper utilizes a natural experiment provided by global geoparks to identify the impact of tourism resources on economic growth.Methods: This paper constructs a difference- in- differences model.Results: Regression analyses based on panel data of 284 cities in China from 2003 to 2020 show that global geoparks drive economic growth. Cities with global geoparks have an average increase of 9.7 percentage points in the growth rate of per- unit- area light brightness compared to cities without global geoparks. This result remains robust in a series of analyses, including adding control variables, selecting a subsample, and changing time lag. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the positive effect of global geoparks on economic growth is stronger in cities without tourism brand certifications, but there is no difference between cities with different transportation infrastructures. The mechanism by which global geoparks promote economic growth is to drive tourism development.Conclusions: The conclusions of this paper provide insights for policymakers to develop tourism resources.