Consumer spending during COVID-19 in a tourism city

Abstract

Leveraging large-scale transaction data, this study quantifies the impact of COVID-19 and policy responses on the spending behavior of both residents and domestic inbound travelers in Jeju, Korea. Findings reveal that both local and national COVID-19 situations significantly affected the spending behavior of both groups. Residents were more sensitive to local cases, while travelers were equally affected by local and national cases. Social distancing minimally impacted resident spending but caused over 20 % reductions in traveler spending. Stimulus payments boosted spending by over 10 % for residents without diminishing the effects of social distancing. Despite the overall benefit of these combined policies, certain economic sectors benefited notably while others suffered, thus leaving them with varying fates during and after the pandemic.