Title: The growth of the tourism industry and its effect on resource consumption in Macao SAR, China

Authors: W.M. To; T.M. Lai; K.I. Ku

Addresses: Macao Polytechnic Institute, School of Business, Macao SAR, China ' Macao Polytechnic Institute, School of Business, Macao SAR, China ' Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao SAR, China

Abstract: Macao, as the world's gaming centre and a tourism city in China, has enjoyed a rapid economic growth over the past decade. However, the consumption of energy, electricity and water resources has also increased significantly. This paper aims at modelling growth patterns of Macao's tourism industry (using a proxy index - gross domestic product, i.e., GDP), the number of inbound tourists, and the consumption of resources using four-parameter logistic models. Correlation and stepwise multiple regression analyses were employed to determine the relationships between Macao's GDP, the number of inbound tourists per year, population, energy use, electricity consumption and water consumption during the period 2000-2012. The analysed results showed that Macao's GDP and electricity consumption primarily depended on the number of inbound tourists, while Macao's water consumption depended more heavily on population. Macao's energy use depended on GDP and population. Some suggestions were given for sustainable tourism.

Keywords: tourism industry; economy; energy consumption; electricity consumption; water consumption; land area; tourist growth; resource consumption; Macao; economic growth; modelling; gross domestic product; GDP; inbound tourists; local population.

DOI: 10.1504/PIE.2016.078066

Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal, 2016 Vol.10 No.1, pp.90 - 113

Received: 01 Feb 2014
Accepted: 16 Oct 2014

Published online: 01 Aug 2016 *

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