Sustainable tourism is the idea of managing the negative impacts or potential for serious harm to the economic, environmental, or social elements of a destination, and thus reaching the goals of sustainable development. This research benchmarks the sustainability of 111 tourist destinations throughout the world, using an advanced integration of a two-stage network DEA under the meta-frontier concept, directional distance function, and network-based ranking methods. The empirical outcomes of these analyses clarify that the sources of sustainable inefficiencies are the self-production process and the technology gap among the tourism regions, rather than the capacity of utilizing the input resources or maintaining the production outcomes. The network-based ranking emphasizes the sufficiency and deficiency of each place, and provides a map of reference among destinations. Based on these, the article reports some managerial suggestions, theoretical implications, and future research directions.
AdrianaB.GrahamM.GiannaM.Can-SengO. (2016). Sustainable tourism, progress, challenges and opportunities: An introduction. Journal of Cleaner Production, 111, 285–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.10.027
2.
AndriaJ.di TolloG.PesentiR. (2020). A heuristic fuzzy algorithm for assessing and managing tourism sustainability. Soft Computing, 24, 4027–4040. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-019-04170-5
3.
AssafA. G. (2012). Benchmarking the Asia Pacific tourism industry: A Bayesian combination of DEA and stochastic frontier. Tourism Management, 33(5), 1122–1127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.11.021
BalaguerJ.Cantavella-JordaM. (2002). Tourism as a long-run economic growth factor: The Spanish case. Applied Economics, 34(7), 877–884. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840110058923
6.
Balsalobre-LorenteD.DrihaO. M.BekunF. V.AdedoyinF. F. (2021). The asymmetric impact of air transport on economic growth in Spain: Fresh evidence from the tourism-led growth hypothesis. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(4), 503–519. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1720624
7.
BansalP.MehraA.KumarS. (2022). Dynamic metafrontier malmquist–luenberger productivity index in network DEA: An application to banking data. Computational Economics, 59(1), 297–324. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1720624
8.
BellaG. (2018). Estimating the tourism induced environmental Kuznets curve in France. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(12), 2043–2052. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1720624
9.
Ben JebliM.HadhriW. (2018). The dynamic causal links between CO2 emissions from transport, real GDP, energy use and international tourism. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 25(6), 568–577. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2018.1434572
10.
BenitoB.SolanaJ.LópezP. (2014). Determinants of Spanish regions’ tourism performance: A two-stage, double-bootstrap data envelopment analysis. Tourism Economics, 20(5), 987–1012. https://doi.org/10.5367/te.2013.0327
11.
BlancasF. J.Lozano-OyolaM.GonzálezM.CaballeroR. (2016). Sustainable tourism composite indicators: A dynamic evaluation to manage changes in sustainability. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(10), 1403–1424. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2015.1122014
BramwellB.HighamJ.LaneB.MillerG. (2017). Twenty-five years of sustainable tourism and the Journal of Sustainable Tourism: Looking back and moving forward. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2017.1251689
ByrdE. T. (2007). Stakeholders in sustainable tourism development and their roles: Applying stakeholder theory to sustainable tourism development. Tourism Review, 62(2), 6–13. https://doi.org/10.1108/16605370780000309
16.
ChiuC.-R.LiouJ.-L.WuP.-I.FangC.-L. (2012). Decomposition of the environmental inefficiency of the meta-frontier with undesirable output. Energy Economics, 34(5), 1392–1399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2012.06.003
17.
CooperW. W.SeifordL. M.ToneK. (2006). Introduction to data envelopment analysis and its uses: With DEA-solver software and references. Springer Science & Business Media.
CronjéD. F.du PlessisE. (2020). A review on tourism destination competitiveness. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 45, 256–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.06.012
20.
DoganE.SekerF.BulbulS. (2017). Investigating the impacts of energy consumption, real GDP, tourism and trade on CO2 emissions by accounting for cross-sectional dependence: A panel study of OECD countries. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(16), 1701–1719. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1119103
21.
ElkingtonJ. (1998). Partnerships from cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st-century business. Environmental Quality Management, 8(1), 37–51. https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.3310080106
22.
FalatoonitoosiE.SchafferV.KerrD. (2022). Does sustainable tourism development enhance destination prosperity?Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 46(5), 1056–1082. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348020988328
23.
FriedH. O.LovellC. K.SchmidtS. S.SchmidtS. S. (2008). The measurement of productive efficiency and productivity growth. Oxford University Press.
24.
FuchsM.PetersM.WeiermairK. (2002). Tourism sustainability through destination benchmarking indicator systems: The case of alpine tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 27(3), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2002.11081371
25.
GarauG.CarboniD. (2022). Economic and environmental impact of the tourism carrying capacity: A local-based approach. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 46(7), 1257–1273. https://doi.org/10.1177/10963480211031426
26.
GiacaloneM.NissiE.CusatelliC. (2020). Dynamic efficiency evaluation of Italian judicial system using DEA based Malmquist productivity indexes. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 72, Article 100952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2020.100952
27.
GiannoniS.MaupertuisM.-A. (2007). Environmental quality and optimal investment in tourism infrastructures: A small island perspective. Tourism Economics, 13(4), 499–513. https://doi.org/10.5367/000000007782696014
28.
GiapT. K.GopalanS.YeY. (2016). Drivers of growth in the travel and tourism industry in Malaysia: A Geweke causality analysis. Economies, 4(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies4010003
29.
GilmoreA.SimmonsG. (2007). Integrating sustainable tourism and marketing management: Can National Parks provide the framework for strategic change?Strategic Change, 16(5), 191–200. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.798
HaiboC.KeD.FangfangW.AyambaE. C. (2020). The spatial effect of tourism economic development on regional ecological efficiency. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27, 38241–38258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09004-8
33.
HeL.ZhaJ.LooH. A. (2020). How to improve tourism energy efficiency to achieve sustainable tourism: Evidence from China. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2018.1564737
34.
HelgadóttirG.EinarsdóttirA. V.BurnsG. L.GunnarsdóttirG. Þ.MatthíasdóttirJ. M. E. (2019). Social sustainability of tourism in Iceland: A qualitative inquiry. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 19(4–5), 404–421. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2019.1696699
35.
HuangC. W. (2018). Assessing the performance of tourism supply chains by using the hybrid network data envelopment analysis model. Tourism Management, 65, 303–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.10.013
36.
HuangY.CoelhoV. R. (2017). Sustainability performance assessment focusing on coral reef protection by the tourism industry in the Coral Triangle region. Tourism Management, 59, 510–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.008
37.
IsakssonR.GarvareR. (2003). Measuring sustainable development using process models. Managerial Auditing Journal, 18(8), 649–656. https://doi.org/10.1108/02686900310495142
38.
IvanovS. H.WebsterC. (2013). Tourism’s contribution to economic growth: A global analysis for the first decade of the millennium. Tourism Economics, 19(3), 477–508. https://doi.org/10.5367/te.2013.0211
KaoC.HwangS. N. (2008). Efficiency decomposition in two-stage data envelopment analysis: An application to non-life insurance companies in Taiwan. European Journal of Operational Research, 185(1), 418–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2006.11.041
41.
KapelkoM.LansinkA. O. (2017). Dynamic multi-directional inefficiency analysis of European dairy manufacturing firms. European Journal of Operational Research, 257(1), 338–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2016.08.009
42.
KristjánsdóttirK. R.ÓlafsdóttirR.RagnarsdóttirK. V. (2018). Reviewing integrated sustainability indicators for tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(4), 583–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2017.1364741
43.
Lado-SestayoR.Fernández-CastroÁ. S. (2019). The impact of tourist destination on hotel efficiency: A data envelopment analysis approach. European Journal of Operational Research, 272(2), 674–686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2018.06.043
44.
LeónC. J.AranaJ. E.Hernández AlemánA. (2014). CO2 emissions and tourism in developed and less developed countries. Applied Economics Letters, 21(16), 1169–1173. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2014.916376
45.
LiuJ.ZhangJ.FuZ. (2017). Tourism eco-efficiency of Chinese coastal cities–Analysis based on the DEA-Tobit model. Ocean & Coastal Management, 148, 164–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.08.003
46.
LiuJ. S.LuW. M.YangC.ChuangM. (2009). A network-based approach for increasing discrimination in data envelopment analysis. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 60(11), 1502–1510. https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2009.35
47.
McCormickJ. (1986). The origins of the world conservation strategy. Environmental Review, 10(3), 177–187. https://doi.org/10.2307/3984544
NepalR.Al IrsyadM. I.NepalS. K. (2019). Tourist arrivals, energy consumption and pollutant emissions in a developing economy–implications for sustainable tourism. Tourism Management, 72, 145–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.08.025
O’DonnellC. J.RaoD. P.BatteseG. E. (2008). Metafrontier frameworks for the study of firm-level efficiencies and technology ratios. Empirical Economics, 34(2), 231–255. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-007-0119-4
53.
OhD. H.LeeJ. D. (2010). A metafrontier approach for measuring Malmquist productivity index. Empirical Economics, 38(1), 47–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-009-0255-0
54.
ÖnderI.WöberK.ZekanB. (2017). Towards a sustainable urban tourism development in Europe: The role of benchmarking and tourism management information systems–A partial model of destination competitiveness. Tourism Economics, 23(2), 243–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816616656247
55.
PanS. Y.GaoM.KimH.ShahK. J.PeiS. L.ChiangP. C. (2018). Advances and challenges in sustainable tourism toward a green economy. Science of the Total Environment, 635, 452–469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.134
56.
ParamatiS. R.ShahbazM.AlamM. S. (2017). Does tourism degrade environmental quality? A comparative study of Eastern and Western European Union. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 50, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2016.10.034
57.
PopovicT.Barbosa-PóvoaA.KraslawskiA.CarvalhoA. (2018). Quantitative indicators for social sustainability assessment of supply chains. Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, 748–768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.142
58.
RamanathanR. (2003). An introduction to data envelopment analysis: A tool for performance measurement. Sage.
59.
RasoolimaneshS. M.RamakrishnaS.HallC. M.EsfandiarK.SeyfiS. (2023). A systematic scoping review of sustainable tourism indicators in relation to the sustainable development goals. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(7), 1497–1517. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1775621
60.
RazaS. A.SharifA.WongW. K.KarimM. Z. A. (2017). Tourism development and environmental degradation in the United States: Evidence from wavelet-based analysis. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(16), 1768–1790. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2016.1192587
61.
RejS.BandyopadhyayA.MurshedM.MahmoodH.RazzaqA. (2022). Pathways to decarbonization in India: The role of environmentally friendly tourism development. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(33), 50281–50302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19239-2
62.
RuanW.LiY.ZhangS.LiuC. H. (2019). Evaluation and drive mechanism of tourism ecological security based on the DPSIR-DEA model. Tourism Management, 75, 609–625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.06.021
63.
RuhanenL.WeilerB.MoyleB. D.McLennanC. L. J. (2015). Trends and patterns in sustainable tourism research: A 25-year bibliometric analysis. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(4), 517–535. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2014.978790
Sanchez-OlleroJ.-L.Garcia-PozoA.Mondejar-JimenezJ. (2022). Impacts of environmental sustainability measures on rural accommodation. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 46(7), 1241–1256. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348020986914
66.
SharpleyR. (2000). Tourism and sustainable development: Exploring the theoretical divide. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 8(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669580008667346
67.
SharpleyR. (2020). Tourism, sustainable development and the theoretical divide: 20 years on. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(11), 1932–1946. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1779732
68.
ShiH.LiX.ZhangH.LiuX.LiT.ZhongZ. (2020). Global difference in the relationships between tourism, economic growth, CO2 emissions, and primary energy consumption. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(9), 1122–1137. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2019.1588864
69.
ShuaiS.FanZ. (2020). Modeling the role of environmental regulations in regional green economy efficiency of China: Empirical evidence from super efficiency DEA-Tobit model. Journal of Environmental Management, 261, Article 110227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110227
70.
SongM.LiH. (2019). Estimating the efficiency of a sustainable Chinese tourism industry using bootstrap technology rectification. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 143, 45–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.03.008
71.
StoddardJ. E.PollardC. E.EvansM. R. (2012). The triple bottom line: A framework for sustainable tourism development. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 13(3), 233–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/15256480.2012.698173
72.
TangZ. (2015). An integrated approach to evaluating the coupling coordination between tourism and the environment. Tourism Management, 46, 11–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.06.001
73.
TanguayG. A.RajaonsonJ.TherrienM.-C. (2013). Sustainable tourism indicators: Selection criteria for policy implementation and scientific recognition. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 21(6), 862–879. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2012.742531
TorkingtonK.StanfordD.GuiverJ. (2020). Discourse (s) of growth and sustainability in national tourism policy documents. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(7), 1041–1062. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1720695
76.
TsionasE. G.AssafA. G. (2014). Short-run and long-run performance of international tourism: Evidence from Bayesian dynamic models. Tourism Management, 42, 22–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2013.08.003
77.
VrontisD.ChristofiM.GiacosaE.SerravalleF. (2022). Sustainable Development in Tourism: A Stakeholder analysis of the Langhe region. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 46(5), 846–878. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348020982353
78.
WallG. (1997). Is ecotourism sustainable?Environmental Management, 21(4), 483–491.
WuD.LiH.WangY. (2023). Measuring sustainability and competitiveness of tourism destinations with data envelopment analysis. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(6), 1315–1335. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2042699
86.
WuK. J.ZhuY.ChenQ.TsengM.-L. (2019). Building sustainable tourism hierarchical framework: Coordinated triple bottom line approach in linguistic preferences. Journal of Cleaner Production, 229, 157–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.212
87.
XuF.NashN.WhitmarshL. (2020). Big data or small data? A methodological review of sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(2), 144–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1631318
88.
XuX.ChiC. G. Q. (2017). Examining operating efficiency of US hotels: A window data envelopment analysis approach. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 26(7), 770–784. https://doi.org/10.1080/19368623.2017.1314205
89.
ZhaJ.DaiJ.XuH.ZhaoC.TanT.LiZ. (2021). Assessing efficiency and determinants of tourist attractions based on a two-subprocess perspective: A case of Chengdu, southwestern China. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, Article 100542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdmm.2020.100542
90.
ZhaJ.YuanW.DaiJ.TanT.HeL. (2020). Eco-efficiency, eco-productivity and tourism growth in China: A non-convex metafrontier DEA-based decomposition model. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(5), 663–685. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1699102
91.
ZhangJ.ZhangY. (2021). Tourism, economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions in China. Tourism Economics, 27(5), 1060–1080. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816620918458
92.
ZhouH.YangY.ChenY.ZhuJ. (2018). Data envelopment analysis application in sustainability: The origins, development and future directions. European Journal of Operational Research, 264(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2017.06.023
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
