Multi-Criteria Analysis of Sustainable Travel and Tourism Competitiveness in Europe and Eurasia

Abstract

The travel and tourism industry has numerous components that contribute to the economy and create new jobs since it is a service sector that incorporates other service networks. Furthermore, it acts as a catalyst in sustaining investment attractiveness and economic indicators such as closing the current account deficit. The Travel and Tourism Competition Index utilized in this research has four dimensions and fourteen indicators. In this research, the Entropy-based VIKOR approach, which is a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making method, Spearman Correlation analysis, and K-means clustering analysis were employed to propose a methodological novelty in this field. The study analyzed the competitiveness of significant European and Eurasian nations based on key indicators. According to country evaluations, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Switzerland differ from other countries in a positive sense and with a significant difference. Eastern European and Balkan nations are often at the bottom of the table. As a consequence of this study, it is expected that the results of future studies using other methodologies or methods will be compared with this study. At the same time, it is aimed to explain the relevant indicators and their dimensions.

Measuring Convergence in Tourism Competitiveness of Natural and Cultural Resources: A Case of the Balkans and Eastern Europe

“…These results confirm the claims of the authors Blanke and Chiesa from 2011 that Germany is a country with many nationally protected areas and many World Heritage natural sites. In addition, the authors Ozkaya and Demirhan (2022) confirm that in terms of tourism competitiveness, Germany is in the top five countries, along with France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. In contrast, the Netherlands and Spain have the strongest air transport infrastructure in terms of tourism competitiveness (Bulin et al, 2020).…”

“…Tourism has become one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world due to continued expansion and diversification (Pizzuto and Sciortino, 2021) and is considered an international industry and the largest provider of jobs that not only constitutes a modern driving force for the development process, but also helps accelerate the recovery of the global economy (Katrakilidis et al, 2017). This is supported by the following global tourism indicators (WTTC, 2021): it participates in the creation of 10.4% of global GDP or in absolute terms with about 9.200 billion USD; it participates in world employment with about 334 million or 10.6%, and generates export of 1.700 billion USD a year, which represents 6.8% of export of all goods and services, or 27.4% of export of services.…”

Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Index: From Theoretical Definition to Practical Analysis in Romania

“…The analysis of tourist destinations' competitiveness from the perspective of tourism demand and supply is very important, because the points of view of the demand side are completely different from those formulated by the supply side [45]. Increases in travel demand and available jobs number, as well as disruptions in the global supply chain, growth of fuel prices and inflation caused by various factors, such as the war in Ukraine and the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, are likely to increase the costs and prices of services throughout the T&T supply chain and ecosystem [9].…”

“…Competitiveness is acknowledged as a crucial economic aspect of sustainability in the HORECA sector. However, it is frequently disregarded in discussions about sustainable tourism because it is directly associated with promoting ecotourism [9] and social tourism that is found in the specialized literature with a doublet of benefits (1) there are evident social advantages when it comes to providing travel opportunities to underprivileged individuals within society, and (2) social tourism is related to the sustainability of tourism [10], i.e., in areas with a high concentration of tourism-polarizing-urban areas (example: Azuga, Bus , teni, Bras , ov, Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, etc. ), ecotourism which involves activities set in a natural environment [11] with a wide range of benefits for the local community [12], rural tourism encompasses a range of attractions and activities that occur in non-urban areas, offering visitors a countryside experience [13], spa tourism which is essential for Romania [14], wine tourism is a form of tourism that revolves around the enjoyment of wine through activities such as tasting, drinking, and even buying wine [15] and rural tourism plays a dual role by not only preserving cultural heritage and rural lifestyles but also by raising awareness among both locals and tourists about the significance of natural and agricultural heritage [16].…”

Does Tourism Development Influence the Economic Growth in Pakistan? Evidence from ARDL and Causality Approach

“…However, out of region' share of the tourism industry to GDP remains higher in India, China, Indonesia and Thailand in the past decades. During last year, the economic growth of Pakistan was 5.3% which was high in the decade and this effect was due to greater economic activities provided by the industries as hotels, airlines, travel agents and transportation services of the passengers (Ozkaya & Demirhan, 2022). Pakistan is selected as a case study to test the nexus between tourism and economic growth due to several causes.…”