On February 18, 2025, UM Distinguished Visiting Scholar Seminar: The asymmetric and nonlinear effects of multi-dimensional distance on international tourism demand by Prof. Gang LI was hosted by Associate Professor Yuansi HOU, from the Department of Integrated Resorts and Tourism Management and delivered by Professor Gang LI from University of Surrey.
In the seminar, Prof. Gang LI adopts an interdisciplinary perspective to systematically elucidate the impact mechanisms of multidimensional cross-national distances on international tourism markets, employing a panel gravity model and utilizing global tourism demand data. The findings reveal that networked infrastructure development—encompassing personnel mobility, information exchange, trade flows, and capital circulation—serves as the primary driver of international tourism demand growth. Five critical dimensions of cross-national distance (physical distance, economic disparities, administrative barriers, tourism-cultural differences, and climatic variations) exert differentiated influences on tourist flows, demonstrating significant asymmetrical between origin and destination countries. Notably, such bidirectional flow disparities emerge only when substantial hierarchical disparity in national status exists between source and host nations. The conclusions provide a theoretical foundation for tourism authorities to formulate differentiated market positioning strategies and establish distance-sensitive marketing frameworks, while offering practical guidance for optimizing visa policies and developing climate-contrast tourism products. These insights hold strategic implications for global tourism recovery in the post-pandemic era.
