The Effect of Dimensions of National Innovation on the Development of the Tourism Industry in Selected Countries

The tourism industry is one of the largest and most diversified industries in the world, and is the most important source of income and job creation in many countries. Because of its growing social and economic importance, the tourism industry has become one of the key pillars of the world economy and is one of the fastest growing industries. Therefore, it is important to examine its determinants in economic issues. In this regard, the present study uses panel data and the Generalized  Method of Moments (GMM)  to examine the effects of the 5 inputs  of national innovationincluding institutions, human capital, infrastructure, market sophistication and business sophistication, and the 2 outputs of national innovation including knowledge and technology outputs and creative outputs of the development of the tourism industry in 20 selected countries during the period 2007-2017. The results show that the effect of all inputs and outputs of national innovation on the development of tourism industry is positive and significant. However, the estimated coefficient of the institutions is larger than the other dimensions and the estimated coefficient of market sophistication is smaller than the other dimensions. Also, the effect of control variables including natural capital, globalization, political stability and real exchange rate on the development of tourism industry is positive and significant.