International tourism and inequality: case study of Organization of the Islamic Conference(OIC) countries

Based on the current importance of tourism industry in the sustainable development process and its significant effect on income distribution of countries, the impact of international tourism on inequality in OIC countries was analyzed in this study. Dynamic panel model and general method of moment estimator were applied in order to investigate the relationship between international tourism and inequality in OIC countries in the period of 2009-2013.The results confirmed the positive relationship between international tourism and income inequality improvement (Gini coefficient) and indicate that development in tourism industry leads to the reduction of income inequality in OIC countries during the period under review.