Tourism destination competitiveness and tourism performance in middle income countries / Md. Kaium Hossain, Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid and Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah

Tourism has become a significant socio-economic force in middle-income countries (MICs). The existing research lacks a comparative analysis of the tourism destination competitiveness (TDC) attributes between upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to evaluate the destination competitiveness characteristics in MICs by empirically comparing LMICs' and UMICs' destination attributes. The study used a quantitative descriptive methodology with a cross sectional secondary data sample from 67 MICs. The findings indicate that MICs are geographically located in six world regions, and each region is unique regarding tourist attractions. This study recognized five TDC determinants in the MICs context: core resources, supporting resources, destination management, tourism price, and environmental quality. The study findings revealed that UMICs have a comparative advantage over LMICs regarding TDC attributes. However, the LMICs group has a price advantage over the UMICs group. Tourism contribution to GDP in UMICs is almost five times more than in LMICs. The novelty of this research is the selection of developing countries on a global scale. The findings are of particular value to tourism researchers and policymakers in MICs. The findings help policymakers formulate effective destination management strategies and marketing plans for their tourism sector. Future research could improve the study's conclusions using recent post-pandemic data to explore the causal link between TDC determinants and tourism performance in MICs.