An Empirical Operationalization of Countries' Destination Competitiveness Using Partial Least Squares Modeling

Growth in tourism has resulted in escalating competition among destinations. Understanding destination competitiveness and its determinant factors is thus critical to tourism researchers and policy makers. Using partial least squares path modeling (PLSPM) on a cross-sectional sample of 154 countries, this study examines relationships among destination competitiveness and its predictors, including the economy, natural environment, and infrastructure. Results indicate that the economy has a positive, indirect impact on tourism competitiveness mediated through the infrastructure and the environment; moreover, infrastructure and environment have a direct, positive impact on tourism competitiveness. PLSPM was also used to compute composite scores for overall destination competitiveness, thus assigning rankings to the 154 countries assessed. This study contributes to extant theories on destination competitiveness, presenting important implications for policymakers on how to strengthen destination competitiveness, and providing an empirically based tool to help benchmark a country's competitiveness in relation to other destinations.