The Homogeneity Analysis of Tourism Competitiveness Performance of Turkish States

Abstract

The findings in both the local and international literature have identified that there are a number of indicators that could influence the competitiveness of the sectors and for determining the competitive power of the industries, it is very crucial to measure these parameters. Destinations with high tourism competitiveness, will not only maintain and protect the current market share, but also could develop high value-added tourism product, which emphasize the importance of evaluating the factors affecting the tourism competitiveness. The main purpose of this research is to analyze the competitiveness of Turkish states regarding with Global Competitiveness Index and Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index and to determine if the competitiveness of tourism sector has an influence on the global competitiveness of these countries. Moreover, cluster analysis was conducted aimed at identifying the group of countries with similar tourism competitiveness scores and if the distribution of these countries is homogenous considering the subcategories of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index. This study is important in terms of helping political decision makers to improve the strategies that is important obstacle for higher tourism competitiveness, while also contributing significantly to the literature for comparing the tourism performance of Turkish States.