IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/toueco/v29y2023i5p1355-1375.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An early assessment of COVID-19’s impact on tourism in U.S. counties

Author

Listed:
  • Luyi Han
  • Stephan J Goetz
  • Daniel Eades
  • Jason Entsminger
  • Doug Arbogast

Abstract

We use county-level data to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the tourism and hospitality sector, which was by far the most impacted of all sectors, focusing on employment and wage changes. Results support our hypothesis that rural counties experienced fewer negative impacts or even benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of job growth . We present maps showing the pandemic’s effects on leisure and hospitality (L&H) employment across the nation, identifying the communities both hardest hit and least impacted. A linear regression model is developed to explore independent factors that influenced the pandemic’s local impact. Results are robust across different measures of the key variable (rurality), including rural-urban continuum codes, distance from metropolitan areas, and population density. We also consider the impacts of social capital, income, and local economic diversification, among other factors. Our results suggest that remote, less-populated counties were more likely to experience stable employment in the L&H sector relative to pre-pandemic levels, and in some cases even experienced employment growth. JEL Classification: J2, J3, R1

Suggested Citation

  • Luyi Han & Stephan J Goetz & Daniel Eades & Jason Entsminger & Doug Arbogast, 2023. "An early assessment of COVID-19’s impact on tourism in U.S. counties," Tourism Economics, , vol. 29(5), pages 1355-1375, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:29:y:2023:i:5:p:1355-1375
    DOI: 10.1177/13548166221107814
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13548166221107814
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/13548166221107814?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2016. "The China Shock: Learning from Labor-Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 205-240, October.
    2. Jérémie Gignoux & Marta Menéndez, 2016. "Benefit in the wake of disaster: Long-run effects of earthquakes on welfare in rural Indonesia," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-01245544, HAL.
    3. Mark D. Partridge & Dan S. Rickman & Kamar Ali & M. Rose Olfert, 2008. "Lost in space: population growth in the American hinterlands and small cities," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(6), pages 727-757, November.
    4. Hoang, Trung Xuan & Le, Duong Trung & Nguyen, Ha Minh & Vuong, Nguyen Dinh Tuan, 2020. "Labor market impacts and responses: The economic consequences of a marine environmental disaster," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    5. Philip Arestis & Aurélie Charles & Giuseppe Fontana, 2013. "Financialization, the Great Recession, and the Stratification of the US Labor Market," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(3), pages 152-180, July.
    6. Jesús Iglesias & Manuel E Gegundez & Antonio A Golpe & José Carlos Vides, 2018. "How do foreign income shocks affect the magnitude of Spanish tourism?," Tourism Economics, , vol. 24(7), pages 839-871, November.
    7. Barr, Andrew & Turner, Sarah, 2015. "Out of work and into school: Labor market policies and college enrollment during the Great Recession," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 63-73.
    8. Gignoux, Jérémie & Menéndez, Marta, 2016. "Benefit in the wake of disaster: Long-run effects of earthquakes on welfare in rural Indonesia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 26-44.
    9. Ming-Hsiang Chen, 2013. "The Impact of Demand and Supply Shocks on US Hospitality Index Returns," Tourism Economics, , vol. 19(2), pages 349-371, April.
    10. Misty Heggeness, 2020. "Why Is Mommy So Stressed? Estimating the Immediate Impact of the COVID-19 Shock on Parental Attachment to the Labor Market and the Double Bind of Mothers," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 33, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    11. Rupasingha, Anil & Goetz, Stephan J. & Freshwater, David, 2006. "The production of social capital in US counties," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 83-101, February.
    12. Maoyong Fan & Anita Alves Pena & Jeffrey M. Perloff, 2016. "Effects of the Great Recession on the U.S. Agricultural Labor Market," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(4), pages 1146-1157.
    13. Sigala, Marianna, 2020. "Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and implications for advancing and resetting industry and research," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 312-321.
    14. Yicheol Han & Stephan J. Goetz, 2015. "The Economic Resilience of U.S. Counties during the Great Recession," The Review of Regional Studies, Southern Regional Science Association, vol. 45(2), pages 131-149, Fall.
    15. Cromartie, John & Dobis, Elizabeth & Krumel, Thomas & Mcgranahan,David & Pender, John, 2020. "Rural America at a Glance: 2020 Edition," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 2020, December.
    16. Yicheol Han & Stephan J. Goetz, 2019. "Predicting US county economic resilience from industry input-output accounts," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(19), pages 2019-2028, April.
    17. Lauren Hoehn-Velasco & Adan Silverio-Murillo & Jose Roberto Balmori de la Miyar & Jacob Penglase, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 recession on Mexican households: evidence from employment and time use for men, women, and children," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 763-797, September.
    18. Misty L. Heggeness, 2020. "Estimating the immediate impact of the COVID-19 shock on parental attachment to the labor market and the double bind of mothers," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1053-1078, December.
    19. Tsvetkova, Alexandra & Partridge, Mark D., 2016. "Economics of modern energy boomtowns: Do oil and gas shocks differ from shocks in the rest of the economy?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 81-95.
    20. Pender, John & Hertz, Thomas & Cromartie, John & Farrigan, Tracey, 2019. "Rural America at a Glance, 2019 Edition," Economic Information Bulletin 301077, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    21. Craig E. Landry & John Bergstrom & John Salazar & Dylan Turner, 2021. "How Has the COVID‐19 Pandemic Affected Outdoor Recreation in the U.S.? A Revealed Preference Approach," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 443-457, March.
    22. Muhammad Khalilur Rahman & Md Abu Issa Gazi & Miraj Ahmed Bhuiyan & Md Atikur Rahaman, 2021. "Effect of Covid-19 pandemic on tourist travel risk and management perceptions," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-18, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lauren Hoehn-Velasco & Jose Roberto Balmori de la Miyar & Adan Silverio-Murillo & Sherajum Monira Farin, 2023. "Marriage and divorce during a pandemic: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marital formation and dissolution in Mexico," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 757-788, September.
    2. Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia & Victoria Vernon, 2023. "Who is doing the chores and childcare in dual-earner couples during the COVID-19 era of working from home?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 519-565, June.
    3. Julie L. Hotchkiss & Robert E. Moore, 2022. "Some Like it Hot: Assessing Longer-Term Labor Market Benefits from a High-Pressure Economy," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 18(2), pages 193-243, June.
    4. Yan Song & Zhenran Li & Xiao Zhang & Ming Zhang, 2021. "Study on indirect economic impacts and their causes of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 108(2), pages 1971-1995, September.
    5. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Neil Lee & Cornelius Lipp, 2021. "Golfing with Trump. Social capital, decline, inequality, and the rise of populism in the US," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 14(3), pages 457-481.
    6. Titan Alon & Sena Coskun & Matthias Doepke & David Koll & Michèle Tertilt, 2022. "From Mancession to Shecession: Women’s Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 83-151.
    7. Luong, Tuan Anh & Nguyen, Manh-Hung & Truong, N.T. Khuong & Le, Kien, 2023. "Rainfall variability and internal migration: The importance of agriculture linkage and gender inequality," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 326-336.
    8. Timothy W. Kelsey & Mark D. Partridge & Nancy E. White, 2016. "Unconventional Gas and Oil Development in the United States: Economic Experience and Policy Issues," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 38(2), pages 191-214.
    9. Partridge, Mark D. & Tsvetkova, Alexandra, 2018. "Local ability to "rewire" and socioeconomic performance: Evidence from US counties before and after the Great Recession," MPRA Paper 89313, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Alexandra Tsvetkova & Mark Partridge & Michael Betz, 2017. "Entrepreneurial and Employment Responses to Economic Conditions across the Rural-Urban Continuum," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 672(1), pages 83-102, July.
    11. De, Prabal K. & Thamarapani, Dhanushka, 2022. "Impacts of negative shocks on wellbeing and aspirations – Evidence from an earthquake," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    12. Chang-Tai Lee & Jin-Li Hu & Ming-Hsin Kung, 2022. "Economic Resilience in the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Across-Economy Comparison," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-25, April.
    13. Katherine Lim & Mike Zabek, 2021. "Women’s Labor Force Exits during COVID-19: Differences by Motherhood, Race, and Ethnicity," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2021-067r1, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.), revised 03 Jul 2023.
    14. Zachary T. Keeler & Heather M. Stephens, 2023. "What matters for lagging regions? The role of self‐employment and industrial diversity in distressed areas," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 962-1001, December.
    15. Graff Zivin, Joshua & Liao, Yanjun & Panassié, Yann, 2023. "How hurricanes sweep up housing markets: Evidence from Florida," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    16. Johar, Meliyanni & Johnston, David W. & Shields, Michael A. & Siminski, Peter & Stavrunova, Olena, 2022. "The economic impacts of direct natural disaster exposure," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 26-39.
    17. Tsvetkova, Alexandra & Partridge, Mark & Betz, Micael, 2016. "Entrepreneurial and Wage and Salary Employment Response to Economic Conditions Across the Rural-Urban Continuum," MPRA Paper 75781, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Marc Diederichs & Reyn van Ewijk & Ingo E. Isphording & Nico Pestel, 2022. "Schools under mandatory testing can mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119(26), pages 2201724119-, June.
    19. Pengyu Chen, 2022. "Analysis of the post-earthquake economic recovery of the most severely affected areas in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 114(3), pages 2633-2655, December.
    20. Philippe Kabore & Nicholas Rivers & Catherine Deri Armstrong, 2023. "Natural disasters and economic performance: Evidence from the Slave Lake wildfire," Working Papers 2301E Classification-D14,, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; leisure and hospitality; rural-urban; employment and wage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:29:y:2023:i:5:p:1355-1375. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.