Competitiveness of Tourist Destinations Theoretical Study of the Main Models

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, several models have been developed to study and analyze the Competitiveness of Tourist Destinations (CTD). The importance of using models that allow results focused on destination performance and real-time access to results by decision makers and managers is fundamental; this premise has motivated us to study in depth the scope and applicability in time and space of each of the 9 models analyzed (1. Crouch e Ritchie (1999); 2. Dwyer e Kim (2003); 3. Enright e Newton (2004); 4. Gooroochurn e Sugiyarto (2005); 5. Fórum Mundial (2007); 6. Mazanec, Wöber e Zins (2007); 7. Hong (2008); 8. Kim (2012); 9. Cvelbar e al. (2016). The study made it possible to understand the virtue and usefulness of each model, which helped to systematize the advantages and disadvantages pointed out to each one and their eventual complementarity, and in this way we started the theoretical construction of a new CTD base model aligned with current needs, which will be the object of specific study in another article. This review of the literature led to the conclusion that, although there is a wide range of approaches, the various authors end up drawing an ideological line in terms of objectives and results for tourist destinations: the Competitiveness of the Tourist Destination should aim at the socio-economic prosperity of the destination and contribute to increase the well-being of the local population.