Destination Competitiveness and Human Development: The Compelling Critical Force of Human Agency

The study investigates whether governance and human agency act as intervening factors in the context of destination competitiveness and human development. This study employs the capability approach—that is, operationalizing human agency from an empowerment (feminist) perspective—and employed a case study research strategy to highlight the criticality of context. The results point to a bidirectional relationship between destination competitiveness and human development. Findings support three requisites: empowering people through occupational opportunities, promoting tourism toward sustaining human development, and placing agency over governance regarding public resource allocation. Surprisingly, results indicated that governance is lacking in the relationship between destination competitiveness and human development. Future research should concentrate on investigating urban versus rural destinations and gender roles, and in disaggregating employement indices to further understand the nature and forces of such relationships.