Interdependence of tourism competitiveness and development of Southern European countries

Abstract

The importance of tourism sector in modern conditions and its significant participation in the macroeconomic indicators of countries, determine it as one of the key factors of competitiveness and development of national economies. Tourism contribution of tourism to competitiveness and economic development, as well as the economic effects of tourism, may vary from country to country. The purpose of the paper is to examine the interdependence between tourism competitiveness and the economic effects of tourism, as well as between tourism competitiveness and development of the Southern European countries. The methods applied in the paper are comparative analysis, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The results of the research indicate that there is no significant positive relationship between the tourism competitiveness and economic effects of tourism in the analysed group of countries, while the relationship between tourism competitiveness and development of these countries is characterized by a high level of positive correlation. This conclusion can be useful for economic and tourism development policy makers and the creator of the policy of improving the competitiveness of tourism.