Reza Hossein Zadeh Bazargani - Faculty of Tourism, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, via Mersin ۱۰ Turkey

Adequate research attention has been given to the determinants of tourism competitiveness. However, there is dearth of empirical studies on the relationship betweentourism competitiveness (TC) and tourism performance. This study evaluates the impact of TC on tourism performance. It captures heterogeneity of the countries andmeasures of tourism competiveness and performance. Using three-stage least square for panel data, th findings reveal that TC is a major driver of the tourismperformance across regions and income groups of countries. Nonetheless, the effect is heterogeneous. Infrastructure is a universal driver of tourism performancewhile policy conditions, enabling environment, and natural and cultural resources are also critical determinants of tourism performance. Thus, for countries around the world to promote the performance of the tourism sector, stakeholders should give adequate attention to the improvement of the TC and consider the multidimensionalnature of the TC-tourism performance nexus in their policy frameworks. The provide policy recommendation suitable for each region and income groups of countries.

Tourism competitiveness; Tourism arrivals; Tourism receipts; Tourism GDP; Tourism performance; Travel and Tourism competitiveness index