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This paper analyses factors affecting arrivals of international tourists into countries denoted as Small Island Developing States (SIDS). These destinations are paired to all potential countries of origin for which the data was available in the UNWTO database for at least one year over the studied period 1995-2014. The dynamic panel data regression techniques within the gravity approach scheme are applied to identify the significance and importance of different factors of international tourist arrivals into SIDS. These factors are subsequently compared in terms of their significance and relevance across the three geographic sub-regions of SIDS. The results show that tourism flows into SIDS are highly persistent. They depend on the accessibility of destinations, tourism infrastructure development, political stability, and levels of economic development of destinations as well as countries of origin. Exchange rate, weather, and language and historical (colonial) links also play significant roles. The regional comparison reveals that the significance and importance of these factors among the three subregions vary only modestly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper introduces and examines the narratives and specifics of Gulf bilateral donors—namely the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. It confronts established narratives with current data and trends and includes the perspective of both Western and Arab scholars. The research points to some new trends among Gulf donors, notably the diversification of their aid sectors and the strengthening of the distinctiveness of Gulf donors from other southern donors. The research also focuses on the narratives about bilateral aid allocation factors of Gulf donors. The results confirm the continuing preference of Arab countries in Middle East and North Africa with predominately Muslim populations. However, aid is not evenly allocated among recipients in the MENA region, and the different and sometimes conflicting (geo)political and security interests of Gulf donors play an important role in the territorial distribution of aid. In addition to these strategic considerations behind the allocation of aid from Gulf donors, the study reveals certain importance of social needs' factors in distribution of Emirati and Kuwaiti official aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]