Beyond metrics: a comprehensive framework for assessing tourism destination competitiveness

Understanding the competitive position of the destination is critical for destination managers in a highly competitive tourism market. The purpose of this study is to evaluate tourism destination competitiveness (TDC) from the demand perspective, analysing importance of various TDC characteristics and attempting to explain how these variables influence tourists' decisions. Under the travel and tourism competitiveness index (TTCI) pillars, this study developed a conceptual model for tourism arrival evaluation that included tourism stakeholders, movement choice, tourism infrastructure, and tourism price variables. The model utilises advanced statistical techniques including maximum likelihood estimation, information entropy, and augmented Dickey-Fuller test to ensure integration of variables and stability for future model modifications, addressing limitations of existing models and promoting inclusivity. The study introduces a novel TTCI weighting technique for evaluating subjective and objective pillars, offering insights for destination management organisations to improve competitiveness and adapt to market changes, holding both theoretical and managerial significance.