The Competitiveness of Turkish Tourism in the Global Market

Assessing a country’s tourism competitiveness is vital for identifying its tourism potential. The aim of this study is to determine Türkiye’s competitiveness in world tourism exports over the period 2010–2023 and to compare the similarity of Türkiye’s exports to the world tourism market with 40 tourism exporting countries that provide complete data for the analyzed period. The study uses the Relative Export Advantage (RXA) Index and Export Similarity Index (ESI) from the Revealed Comparative Advantage indexes. The RXA analysis, based on Trade Map data, reveals that out of 26 competitive countries, 10 have a “strong”, 9 a “moderate”, and 7 a “weak” advantage. The top countries with a “strong” advantage are Macao, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jordan, Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand. According to 2023 Trade Map data, Türkiye, ranking sixth globally in tourism export revenues, is the most competitive among Spain, Portugal, Malaysia, Morocco, Egypt, Indonesia, Greece, and Italy, which have a “medium” competitive advantage. The ESI results show that Türkiye’s export similarity with highly competitive countries was initially higher during 2010–2023 but has since decreased.