Innovation is a key driver in the tourism industry, enhancing destinations’ competitiveness and resilience while ensuring their appeal in a highly interconnected and informed global market. This study examines the relationship between technological innovation performance and the attraction of international tourists across 222 origin and 208 destination countries during the period 2000–2019, employing a gravity model. Patents, research and development expenditure, bilateral trade flows, regional trade agreements (RTA) and articles published in scientific and technical journals are used as proxies for innovation activity and outcomes. The findings reveal a complex relationship between innovation and tourism flows, identifying three distinct segments: tourists drawn to highly innovative destinations, those preferring countries with lower innovation performance, and those traveling between countries with similar innovation levels. These novel insights carry significant managerial and academic implications, emphasizing the need to understand diverse tourist segments to effectively manage destinations and tailor promotional strategies.
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