Retirement consumption puzzle in tourism: evidence from CHARLS

ABSTRACTStudies have shown that tourism consumption is an effective way for active ageing by improving older adults’ well-being and quality of life. However, there is currently a literature gap on post-retirement tourism consumption. This study used the fuzzy regression discontinuity design to explore the changes in tourism consumption after retirement with a longitudinal database, China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We found a retirement consumption puzzle in tourism consumption amongst older adults, as well as gender differences. Furthermore, the inhibition effect of retirement on tourism consumption of older people can be alleviated by strengthening family interaction, enhancing their participation in social activities and providing tourism products-based gender heterogeneity.KEYWORDS: Tourism consumptionretirement consumption puzzleactive ageingconstrainsregression discontinuityJEL: D1D12J26 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China: [grant no 72272158]; National Natural Science Foundation of China: [grant no 42371242]; National Social Science Fund of China: [grant no 22&ZD190]; Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province: [grant no 2021A1515012005].