Competitiveness
Destination Competitiveness: An Analysis of Determinant Attributes
Geoffrey I. Crouch1
Journal of Travel Research 50(1) 27–45 © 2011 SAGE Publications Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0047287510362776 http://jtr.sagepub.com
Abstract The aim of this study was to develop an insight into the importance and impact of attributes which affect the competitiveness of tourism destinations. Using a general conceptual model of destination competitiveness, 36 competitiveness attributes were evaluated by “expert” judgment in the form of an online survey of destination managers and tourism researchers. These judgments were integrated and analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). In addition to estimating the importance of the attributes of competitiveness, the results of the AHP were further analyzed to produce measures of attribute determinance. These measures were then tested statistically to identify which attributes were judged to exert the greatest determinant impact on destination competitiveness. Ten of the 36 attributes were found to have determinance measures statistically significantly greater than average. Keywords destination competitiveness, competitiveness attributes, attribute importance, attribute determinance, analytic hierarchy process
Introduction and Background
The Economist (1998, p. 10) noted that “there may be more tourists to go round, but there is also more competition between destinations as cities, countries and continents latch on to the charms of tourist revenue. . . . Like all consumer products, tourist destinations must persuade their customers that they have some combination of benefits which no one else can offer. Destinations are trying every bit as hard as airlines and hotels to establish themselves as brands, using all the razzamatazz of modern marketing. Every place tries to make the most of what it has got.” How tourism destinations develop, maintain, protect, or strengthen their
Geoffrey I. Crouch1
Journal of Travel Research 50(1) 27–45 © 2011 SAGE Publications Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0047287510362776 http://jtr.sagepub.com
Abstract The aim of this study was to develop an insight into the importance and impact of attributes which affect the competitiveness of tourism destinations. Using a general conceptual model of destination competitiveness, 36 competitiveness attributes were evaluated by “expert” judgment in the form of an online survey of destination managers and tourism researchers. These judgments were integrated and analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). In addition to estimating the importance of the attributes of competitiveness, the results of the AHP were further analyzed to produce measures of attribute determinance. These measures were then tested statistically to identify which attributes were judged to exert the greatest determinant impact on destination competitiveness. Ten of the 36 attributes were found to have determinance measures statistically significantly greater than average. Keywords destination competitiveness, competitiveness attributes, attribute importance, attribute determinance, analytic hierarchy process
Introduction and Background
The Economist (1998, p. 10) noted that “there may be more tourists to go round, but there is also more competition between destinations as cities, countries and continents latch on to the charms of tourist revenue. . . . Like all consumer products, tourist destinations must persuade their customers that they have some combination of benefits which no one else can offer. Destinations are trying every bit as hard as airlines and hotels to establish themselves as brands, using all the razzamatazz of modern marketing. Every place tries to make the most of what it has got.” How tourism destinations develop, maintain, protect, or strengthen their
References: Journal of Travel Research 50(1) Go, Frank M., and Robert Govers (2000) 45 Shmanske, Stephen (2005)