Checking convergence hypothesis of the Russia tourist market

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the convergence hypothesis for the main countries which have tourist flows to Russia. To test the convergence hypothesis, the authors follow existing papers by applying a unit root test between the total number of international tourist arrivals and the international tourist arrivals from a certain initial market. The results show long-term convergence in the tourist market of Russia. Structural change testing revealed that thirteen countries show signs of convergence with discontinuity periods, which are mainly observed in Russia during the period of 2014–2015. These findings mean that the policies used by the state to increase the total number of visitors arriving in Russia have been successful, and maintaining these strategies can continue to increase the number of international visitors to the country.