A multilevel Gini decomposition approach to measuring the geographic concentration of tourism

This research highlights findings from an application of a multilevel Gini decomposition method to measure the degree of spatial concentration of tourism markets in Australia. The overall level of spatial concentration in Australia is decomposed into two levels: inbound country and travel purpose. While travel purpose is an important factor associated with the concentration patterns of tourism, the nature of its impact differs significantly by country of origin. Due to the variation in market share and the market's underlying dispersal characteristics, an increase in the share of one market may require a more than proportionate increase in the shares of several markets in order to counterbalance the spatial concentration pressures. Findings show that considering only one factor in the decomposition process can hide important offsetting influences of market segments on concentration and dispersion.