The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index: Examining the Reciprocal Relationship among the TTCI Factors Relative to Porter’s (1998) Diamond Model and Airline Passenger Seat Capacity for the Countries of the World

Abstract

The current study tested the application of Porter’s (1998) diamond model of international competitiveness to the travel and tourism (T&T) industry by examining the relationship among the 14 factors of the travel and tourism competitiveness index (TTCI) to the model’s four dimensions. The assignment of TTCI factors to these dimensions was guided by Dwyer and Kim (2003) and Ritchie and Crouch (2010). The study also examined the relationship between TTCI factors and airline passenger seat capacity, which was measured as the per capita annual average of weekly available seat kilometers. The sample comprised 136 countries, which represented 70% of the world’s countries, and encompassed 98% of world GDP. TTCI data were acquired from the World Economic Forum’s 2017 edition of the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, and airline seat capacity data were acquired from IATA. The study design was explanatory correlational. MANOVA and univariate follow-up F tests confirmed 19 unique reciprocal relationships. All were positive except two. Each dimension also had at least one factor that was part of a significant reciprocal relationship and therefore the findings supported Porter’s model. The findings also identified five factors as critical to being competitive in the international travel and tourism industry: Health & Hygiene, Business Environment, Prioritization of Travel & Tourism, International Openness, and Air Transport Infrastructure. A simultaneous hierarchal regression analysis also confirmed that Health & Hygiene, Air Transport Infrastructure, and Prioritization of Travel & Tourism had significant positive relationships with airline seat capacity whereas Environmental Sustainability, Cultural Resources & Business Travel, and Price Competitiveness had significant negative relationships with airline seat capacity. The findings suggest that promoting travel and tourism can be beneficial to a country’s international reputation and yield greater prosperity. To do so, though, countries must give attention to health and hygiene conditions, air transport infrastructure, business environment, and focus on improving international openness.