Determinants of tourist arrivals in European Mediterranean countries: Analysis of competitiveness

Abstract

[EN] This research employs a gravity framework to evaluate the tourism in European Mediterranean countries. The paper analyses the destination competitiveness as a means for tourism attraction and also verifies whether more competitive countries can be used as a point of reference for the development of those lagging behind. The gravity equations are used because of their proven effectiveness in estimating other similar studies fields. The study focuses on the Mediterranean European countries, mainly due essentially, to the wide span of their positions along the TTCI ranking (Spain ranks first, whereas Montenegro is in 67th place). Results reveal that these European destinations are not efficiently exploiting their tourism capacity and they need apply policies to foster this economic activity and enable the transformation of competitiveness into greater numbers of visitors.