Competitiveness and Sustainability of Tourism in the European Union Countries

Abstract

The competitiveness of tourism as a multidimensional concept that includes the economic, social, cultural, political and technological dimensions of tourism development is closely related to sustainable tourism, which, in addition to positive economic effects, must ensure the preservation of the destination's natural and cultural resources for future generations. The main objective of this paper is to assess the interdependence between tourism competitiveness and sustainable development of tourism based on empirical data. The research is conducted on a sample of the European Union countries. The methods applied in the paper are: comparative and correlation analysis. The research results point to the existence of a high positive correlation between indicators of competitiveness and indicators of tourism development. The concept of tourism sustainability has been important for decades and has been especially emphasized during the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The research results further emphasized the importance of tourism competitiveness in ensuring the successful and sustainable development of tourism.