ABSTRACT
It is widely accepted that aviation plays a vital role in the regional, rural and remote (RRR) context. Local businesses, airline operators and remote airports frequently highlight the substantial economic impacts of air transport to geographically remote or isolated regions. IATA has recognised the wider economic benefits of aviation in small island developing states (SIDS), particularly its role in developing tourism. Economic impacts usually refer to employment and income generated and include four main types: direct impacts (generated by the direct construction and operation of remote aviation); indirect impacts (generated by the chain of suppliers of goods and services related to remote aviation); induced impacts (generated by employees spending their income); and catalytic impacts (generated by the role of air transport in remote regions as a driver of productivity growth and an attractor of new firms). Research on these impacts has occurred in Europe, where in Norway it has been shown that remote airports are important catalysts for local investment (see Halpern and Bråthen 2011), and in Canada, the US and Australia, where Baker et al. (2015) discovered a strong bidirectional relationship between regional aviation and economic growth.
