Multi-Criteria Analysis of Sustainable Travel and Tourism Competitiveness in Europe and Eurasia

Abstract

The travel and tourism industry has numerous components that contribute to the economy and create new jobs since it is a service sector that incorporates other service networks. Furthermore, it acts as a catalyst in sustaining investment attractiveness and economic indicators such as closing the current account deficit. The Travel and Tourism Competition Index utilized in this research has four dimensions and fourteen indicators. In this research, the Entropy-based VIKOR approach, which is a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making method, Spearman Correlation analysis, and K-means clustering analysis were employed to propose a methodological novelty in this field. The study analyzed the competitiveness of significant European and Eurasian nations based on key indicators. According to country evaluations, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Switzerland differ from other countries in a positive sense and with a significant difference. Eastern European and Balkan nations are often at the bottom of the table. As a consequence of this study, it is expected that the results of future studies using other methodologies or methods will be compared with this study. At the same time, it is aimed to explain the relevant indicators and their dimensions.