Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

 
2007 Annual International CHRIE Conference & Exposition 
231
DESTINATION COMPETITIVENESS FROM THE TOURISTS’ PERSPECTIVE: HOW DOES IT 
RELATE TO QUALITY OF TOURISM EXPERIENCE? 
 
Fang Meng 
Ohio University 
Athens, Ohio, USA 
 
ABSTRACT
Destination competitiveness is a critical issue in today’s increasingly challenging tourism market. Studies 
have indicated that the quality of tourism experiences is the key to the competitive advantages of destinations. 
However, limited research has been undertaken to examine destination competitiveness from the tourists’ 
perspective and how it is related to quality of tourism experience. This study aims to investigate the nature of the 
relationship and better understand how the two concepts relate to each other. Factor analysis and canonical 
correlation analysis were performed to empirically test the nature and magnitude of the relationship.
Key Words:
Destination competitiveness, Quality of tourism experience, Tourist perspective