The Economic Efficiency of the Tourism Industry: A Global Comparison

Although the measurement of efficiency and productivity in the tourism industry at the micro level has been the subject of considerable research in recent years, there has been little research at the macro level. Using data envelopment analysis, this paper analyses the efficiency of the tourism sector in 105 countries, including 34 developed and 71 developing countries. It finds that globalization and accessibility are critical for the efficiency of the tourism sector in developing countries and that labour productivity may be a good proxy for the efficiency of the aggregate tourism industry.