Testing the Link between Competitiveness Indicators and Tourism Demand: A Panel Data Analysis

This working paper investigates the association between indicators of destination competitiveness and tourism demand using panel data models. Previous studies have identified various competitiveness indicators, but fail to examine the contribution of these indicators to tourism demand. Our research bridges the gap and provides empirical evidence to advance knowledge of destination competitiveness. Analyzing the data of 111 countries from 2009 to 2016, we show that the global competitiveness index and the corresponding subindexes are positively associated with international tourism demand. The investigation also reveal that competitiveness indicators can be more general than what have been discussed in the previous studies. Besides theoretical contributions, our study has policy relevance