The viability of the travel and tourism competitiveness index as a reliable measure of destination competitiveness: the case of the Mediterranean region

Authors

  • Ivo Kunst Institute for tourism, Vrhovec 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, E-mail: ivo.kunst@iztzg.hr, Tel: +385 98 354873
  • Neven Ivandić Institute for tourism, Vrhovec 5, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v27i.2124

Keywords:

Destination competitiveness, Travel & tourism competitiveness index, performance assessment, Mediterranean

Abstract

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (T&TCI) seems to be the most used measure of a destination’s competitiveness, even though the methodology underlying its calculation is characterized by numerous shortcomings. The viability of T&TCI as a reliable measure of a country’s competitive capability should stem from its ability to explain and/or predict the performance-related consequences of tourism activity within a destination. To check whether the T&TCI can do that, a model has been constructed and tested on a sample of Mediterranean countries for the 2007 – 2017 period. The analysis revealed that the change in the T&TCI score often does not relate to a change in the performance-related indicators of tourism activity selected. Hence, the T&TCI should not be regarded as a reliable measure of a destination’s competitiveness.

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Published

2021-03-01

How to Cite

Kunst, I., & Ivandić, N. (2021). The viability of the travel and tourism competitiveness index as a reliable measure of destination competitiveness: the case of the Mediterranean region. European Journal of Tourism Research, 27, 2704. https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v27i.2124