Effect of air quality in the place of origin on outbound tourism demand: Disposable income as a moderator

Tourism is largely dependent on climate and weather, and thus climatic attributes are expected to alter decisions of tourists. Utilising transaction data from a leading online travel agent (OTA) in China, this study explores the impacts of air quality, a critical environmental indicator, on outbound tourism demand whilst considering the moderating effects of disposable income at the city level. Empirical results show that air quality in the place of origin creates a pushing effect as local outbound tourism demand increases as air quality deteriorates. This relationship is negatively moderated by local disposable income level. This study also identifies a delay effect of five days in the impacts of air quality on outbound tourism demand. The theoretical contributions and implications of these findings for the operation management of OTAs and tourism destinations are presented at the end of this study.