Performance as a classification criterion of tourist origins and destinations

Abstract

The definition of performance variables, which can be used as indicators of the results obtained/to be obtained, is a fundamental prerequisite in the carrying out of any evaluation process. Portfolio analysis has been used as a tool for the study of market segments, namely of tourist destinations. However, a review of the literature did not identify a single case where the performance variable is adjusted to the nature of the object. In fact, contrary to many other situations, the use of performance variables in absolute terms does not appear to be the most recommendable solution given that the total volume is conditioned by the size of the territory and, above all, by the number of inhabitants. In other words, for a certain level of socio-economic development, larger countries (in terms of size and number of inhabitants) will tend to have higher absolute values. Besides this, the empirical studies reviewed contain little, or no, information about competition, being temporally static. Although in some cases growth rate is used as a variable, thus presupposing the consideration of two magnitudes in two different moments in time, more than one register per object is never considered, meaning that evolutive analyses are not viable. Consequently, a performance proxy was developed which enables a direct comparison between generating countries (origins) and between destinations, regardless of the number of inhabitants. The selection of the performance proxy can depend on the object of study. In any case, it should always permit the evaluation, in general terms, of the results obtained by the destination for the set of origins under analysis and the results generated by the origin for the set of destinations under study. The proposed tool is a component of a model for the identification of priority market segments, and is constituted by a system of orthogonal axes which produces four quadrants that are distinct in terms of intensity (axis OY) and growth (axis OX) of tourist flows. The tool, like the model, can be applied to any type of destination (city, region or country) and to any market segmentation criterion (geographic, demographic, behavioural, psychographic or other). In the study reported here, the instrument is applied to the 15 Member States of the European Union (before its expansion on May 1st 2004), for the period from 1996 to 2001. Eurostat was the sole source of data for the study. The UK and Ireland are the countries classified as ‘Progressing Origins’. With 16.8% of the population, they increased their contribution from 17.7% to 21.9% and are responsible for 38.7% of the growth that occurred between 1996 and 2001. Spain, Greece and Ireland are the countries classified as ‘Progressing Destinations’. With 14.4% of the population, they increased their share of the market from 21.5% to 24.2%, capturing 35.1% of the growth that occurred between 1996 and 2001