Mean-variance-skewness in destination efficiency framework: The case of France

Abstract

Number of overnight stays is an important variable in the context of tourism destination competitiveness. Recently, researchers suggested the mean-variance approach as a tool to measure the efficiency of this variable. However, this methodology is inadequate if the variable does not follow a normal distribution or if the decision-makers do not have a quadratic utility function. Thus, higher moments, such as skewness or/and kurtosis should be taking into consideration. The paper introduces the portfolio theory with skewness as an efficiency measure of the number of international overnight stays in France from 2002 to 2012. First, we show that this variable is not normally distributed. Then, we use a non-parametric approach based on the Mean-Variance-Skewness (MVS) introduced by Briec et al. (2007) to measure the performance of four different regional origins of international tourists staying in France. Finally, we demonstrate that the decision-makers should take the high-return/ low-risk option with a high-skewness.