Abstract of thesis entitled The Impact of Tourism on Economic Growth in China: A Panel Data Analysis. Submitted by Tao Yuan (M-A6-6807-2) for the degree of Master of Social Sciences in Economics at the University of Macau in June, 2008. This thesis examines the relationship between tourism and economic growth for China from 1994 to 2006. The empirical study is based on a panel data of 25 provinces analysis. The results show that both international and domestic tourist receipts positively and significantly contribute to the GDP of China. The results also provide evidence that there are regional and income differences in China: on the one hand, the international tourism has a larger effect than the domestic tourism in the middle and west regions, while the domestic tourism is more important in the east region. On the other hand, the low income provinces obtain more benefits from international tourism while the high income provinces obtain more benefits from domestic tourism, No evidence is found that there is difference between tourism specialization provinces and non-tourism specialization provinces. The finding simply that China's economy could be enhanced by strategically strengthening the tourism industries.