Smart destination competitiveness: underscoring its impact on economic growth

Abstract

PurposeThe current study is designed to investigate the factors that foster the framing of destination competitiveness and establish the factors that drive the contribution of tourism innovations to economic growth in smart tourism destinations.Design/methodology/approachA four-year panel data were extracted from the World Economic Forum's travel and tourism competitiveness index and data were analysed using Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood regression model.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that both the enabling environment and airport infrastructure significantly affect tourism's impact on the economy of the selected smart European tourism destinations. Conversely, human resources and general infrastructure display a negative correlation with tourism's contribution to the economy. However, no data in the sample support the idea that tourism policies, government prioritization or readiness of tourism information and communication technologies impact tourism's contribution to the economy. Additionally, the marginal effects indicate that improving the enabling environment and airport infrastructure can generate additional benefits for the economy through tourism.Originality/valueThe uniqueness of this study is the integration of smart tourism destinations with the measure of destination competitiveness to provide an empirical bridge that links tourism competitiveness to economic growth.

The Influence of Tourism Industry and Tourism Supply Chain on Tourism Performance

“…These values play a crucial role in facilitating the growth and advancement of tourism destinations within Central Kalimantan. A country's economic growth and tourist supply chain adoption may be boosted by robust tourism (Lasisi et al, 2023). The value of professionalism represents the skill and dedication of professionals who implement tourist development initiatives in Central Kalimantan.…”

“…The tourism sector is highly dynamic, and its growth is significantly influenced by the role of social media in promoting existing tourist destinations (Chu et al, 2020). Countries are anticipated to reap rewards when they prioritize the tourism sector by making substantial government investments to bolster tourism activities and promotional efforts (Lasisi et al, 2023). They are enabling individuals to do business in the tourist industry.…”

“…Consequently, the growth and development of tourism, particularly in tourism villages, rely heavily on the role played by stakeholders within the supply chain, both today and in the future (Roxas et al, 2020). Studying the region helps us identify key stakeholders and factors unique to the area for crafting policies that are effective and tailored to the region's context (Lasisi et al, 2023). However, there is a gap in understanding the specific influence of academic stakeholders, tourism industry players stakeholders, and local government stakeholders on both the tourism supply chain and tourism performance, which the hypotheses of this study aim to e-ISSN: 2503-4243 address.…”

An overview of literature on destination competitiveness: A theoretical analysis of the travel and tourism competitiveness index

“…Vasanicova et al (2021) referred to the fact that the business environment is important when measuring a country's competitiveness indicator. Furthermore, Lasisi et al (2023) considered tourism ICT readiness among other determinants that contribute to tourism competitiveness. Elsawy (2023) also suggests that paying attention to ICT skills and competencies could eventually lead to a highly competitive advantage for the tourism industry.…”

“…Basically, the TTCI has traditionally been used to evaluate the effects of policy changes on the travel and tourism sector and to inform those decisions (Lasisi et al, 2023). Wu (2011) mentioned that by highlighting a destination's advantages, the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) can raise awareness of the place.…”