The main objective of this paper is to analyse the effect of exchange rate arrangements on international tourism. The ambiguity in the literature about the effect of exchange rate volatility contrasts with the magnitude of the impact of a common currency on trade. The authors apply panel data techniques to analyse the relevance of a common currency to tourism, finding that it is a major factor in the determination of tourist arrivals. They also analyse the impact of several de facto exchange rate arrangements on tourism, finding that less flexible exchange rates promote tourism.

The authors estimate short-run and long-run elasticities for tourists visiting the island of Tenerife. Panel data analysis has rarely been used in previous empirical research. Most of the work in this field takes a price and an income variable to explain tourism demand, and less attention has been given to other variables, such as promotional expenditure. The authors find a significant influence in this variable. They also obtain significant elasticities for income, exchange rate, cost of the trip, and infrastructure.