Tourist destination competitiveness: An international approach through the travel and tourism competitiveness index

Abstract

Few studies have analysed the challenges that the countries may have to face to become competitive as tourism destinations. To address this gap, this research analyses competitiveness through two key dimensions: the comparative advantage and competitive advantage of a destination. The model proposed is based on Crouch and Ritchie’s competitiveness model and the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index for a sample of 137 countries. The methods applied are data envelopment analysis and truncated regression with bootstrap. The results reveal that those countries with a major comparative advantage do not necessarily present a highly competitive advantage since the positions in both competitiveness dimensions are related to the degree of development of the countries. The tourist-related and environmental-related managerial capabilities that lead significant strategic assets being achieved for a better competitive advantage are also identified. The findings offer useful managerial information since they provide a valuable understanding of the competitiveness of countries when compared to others.