Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
globalization made it imperative for contemporary firms to become com-
petitive whether they are from developed or developing countries. As
Vietor (2006) states, as a result of globalization, at the national level,
countries compete with each other in terms of market, technology, skills,
and investment to grow and raise their standards of living. As Onsel et al.
(2008) indicate at the firm level, “the capability of firms to survive and to
have a competitive advantage in global markets depends on, among other
things, the efficiency of public institutions, the excellence of educational,
health and communication infrastructures, as well as on the political and
economic stability of their home country.”
Nations are struggling to remain competitive by having regional spe-
cializations in terms of higher value-added nonmanufacturing industries
and Research and Development intensive manufacturing niches (OECD,
2007). Similarly, Porter (2009) indicates that competitiveness depends on
the productivity with which a nation uses its human, capital, and natural
resources. Economic coordination with neighboring countries can signifi-
cantly enhance competitiveness. Consisting most of the developing and
under-developed countries, economic collaboration among Silk Road
countries is expected to enhance sustainable competition. In this sense,
tourism, being a significant source of income, would help countries to
regulate their balance of payments and create new jobs for the society,
which in turn will contribute to economic prosperity. Many the countries
use tourism as a strategic tool to increase the income of their citizens.
In doing this, the problem is that it is relatively difficult to meet the in-
ternational standards in tourism services and therefore quality issues are
likely to arise. Considering the case of Silk Road countries, the level of
competitiveness is expected to be relatively lower for underdeveloped and
under-developed Silk Road countries.
In the following sections, we begin with analyzing the importance of
tourism and contemporary trends in tourism industry. Secondly, we review
the geographical, historical, cultural, natural, and economical aspects of
Silk Road countries to comprise a theoretical base for our analysis of com-
petitiveness index factors.
TRENDS IN TOURISM INDUSTRY
Tourism has been a significant strategic tool for policy makers at national
and firm levels. Growth of the tourism industry depends on its potential
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