CLUSTERING SILK ROAD COUNTRIES BASED ON COMPETITIVENESS FACTORS IN TOURISM INDUSTRY - Tourism in Central Asia: Cultural Potential and Challenges - page 217

The analysis of the second pillar of the T&T regulatory framework, en-
vironmental sustainability , revealed (See Table 4) that Cluster 2 countries
performed better in 2 out of 7 variables, which are stringency of environ-
mental regulation (Mean 1 = 3.19; Mean 2 = 4.10; t = −2.962; p = 0.007)
and enforcement of environmental regulation (Mean 1 = 3.00; Mean 2 =
3.70; t = −2.043; p = 0.054) . Because the policies and factors contribut-
ing to environmental sustainability are important to provide tourists an
attractive location, the stringency of environmental regulations and the
enforcement of environmental regulatory rules stated by governments and
local authorities are crucial. Comparative advantage of Cluster 2 coun-
tries in these variables is expected to contribute to the attractiveness of
these countries as a potential destination for travelers. Besides this finding,
Cluster 1 countries have a higher score in the particulate matter concen-
tration variable (Mean 1 = 66.58; Mean 2 = 33.75; t = 2.593; p = 0.017).
The last pillar of the T&T regulatory framework is health and hygiene,
which consists of 4 variables. t -test results in Table 4 reveal that Cluster
2 countries have higher scores for access to improved sanitation (Mean 1
= 80.53; Mean 2 = 97.11, t = −2.179; p = 0.041) and access to improved
drinking water (Mean 1 = 89.71; Mean 2 = 99.11; t = −3.138; p = 0.005)
variables. Because access to improved sanitation refers to the percentage
of population with access to excreta disposal facilities, such as pit latrines
and flush toilets, Cluster 2 countries have superior conditions to provide
travelers a more sustainable environment. In terms of access to improved
drinking water variable, which refers to the percentage of population with
access to an adequate amount of water from an improved source, Cluster
2 countries have statistically higher scores and provide superior drink-
ing water from improved sources to citizens and travelers. Besides these
findings the two clusters did not show any statistically different results in
physician density and hospital beds variables.
T-TEST RESULTS FOR T&T BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND
INFRASTRUCTURE SUBINDEX
The results in Table 3 show that Cluster 2 countries have relatively more
competitive advantage in the T&T business environment and infrastruc-
ture pillars, namely, air transport infrastructure (Mean 1 = 2.72; Mean 2
= 3.83; t = −4.279; p = 0.000) , ground transport infrastructure (Mean 1