**4.2. Competitiveness, tourism and economic growth**

From the previous analysis, it is deduced that the increase of tourism activity seems to contribute positively to economic growth, although the way in which it does so, its magnitude, as well as the generalisation of this contribution to the growth of all the countries or time periods, are questions that remain open today. It is possible that this is because the factors that favour economic growth and the relationships among them are not always suitably taken into account.

Tourism is usually seen as an element that favours the economic growth and development of countries and regions [98]. It is assumed in the extensive literature on competitiveness and tourism, as affirmed in [93], that the more competitive a tourist destination is, the more tourists it will attract, bringing an increase in income through this sector, which will lead to an increase of production and economic growth. However, this link does not seem to be so clear for some other economists, for whom a greater number of tourists also supposes greater imports of goods to satisfy their needs, the repatriation of profits to other countries when the tourism companies have foreign capital, or the sale of tourist objects at very inferior prices to those of the market or under very favourable conditions [99–101].

In this regard, recent studies do not find empirical evidence in favour of the argument that a greater tourism competitiveness generates a greater contribution to economic growth [93], which seems to suggest that, by not assessing the relationship between tourism and other productive factors, their conclusions may be biased. Several aspects can be taken into account when analysing these relationships.

Firstly, the indicators of tourism competitiveness include a wide number of economic variables that form part of the public capital, private capital, and human capital. This is why those competitiveness indicators are influenced by productive factors that determine economic growth. Secondly, the relationship between tourism and growth also involves some difficulties in its study. These occur when tourism is measured by income or by number of tourists, thus making reference to demand variables, or when physical and human capital and infrastructure are used to explain the effects of tourism and economic growth, when the studies seem to suggest that tourism depends on competitiveness, which in turn depends on productive factors.

Also, and in relation to this question, it is possible to say that the study of these effects of tourism on economic growth are affected by other essential variables to explain the growth, such as the physical and human capital, and the infrastructure. Therefore, if they are not included to explain the growth, the study will be biased, but if they are included it will also be biased if it is thought that tourism depends on competitiveness, and this on the productive factors.

**Figure 1** shows the relationships between competitiveness, tourism and growth, where competitiveness depends on tourism, tourism generates growth and the growth depends on the productive factors which affect tourism competitiveness.

**Figure 1.** Relationships between competitiveness, tourism and growth in previous studies. (Source: Own production).

Alternatively, in this study, a new conception of those relationships between competitiveness, tourism and growth is proposed, where the provision of those inherited resources, together with the provision of productive resources and the links between them are the determining elements of the capacity of an economy to produce, and therefore to grow. **Figure 2** presents this new conception of the relationships between competitiveness, tourism and growth. The analysis of this new conceptual framework involves the need to determine or to evaluate the productive factors, on the one hand, and on the other to determine those tourism resources, by means of some type of indicator, which can be called *inherited*, and which are not directly affected by the productive factors. This analysis can be based on the methodologies that have previously been developed to define tourism competitiveness.

**Figure 2.** Relationships between competitiveness, tourism and growth: New conceptual framework. (Source: Own pro‐ duction).

The tourism variable that is included in the model does not depend on demand factors, as in the previous models in which tourism is measured by tourism derived income or number of tourists [62,65,80–86]. Neither does it depend directly on productive factors, such as physical and human capital. This variable refers to the conditions of the territory that motivate the tourism offer of a geographic zone. However, what should be included in the concept of inherent tourism resources is an undefined question, as has been shown in the measurement of tourism competitiveness in previous studies. Thus, the Crouch and Ritchie [2] model of competitiveness refers to the main resources and attractions of the local geographic enclave, which include landscape and climatic characteristics and the monumental and historicalartistic heritage. The model of Kim [3] refers to the tourism resources which make the place attractive to the tourist. The model that Dywer and Kim [4] propose establishes the term of inherited resources. Dywer et al. [55] highlight the so-called inherent resources among the tourism resources. The WEF Indicator includes factors such as environmental sustainability and natural and cultural resources [34].

In general, it seems that in certain territories a series of elements exist that make those places interesting for the tourist, and which seem to be related to the culture, the environment and the climatic situation. These resources are numerous, and some of them have been protected throughout the last century, for their interest, showing that they are recognised as elements of attraction for some of the reasons indicated previously. Therefore, from the measurement of those elements, it can be possible to produce an indicator, with the tourism competitiveness measurement techniques indicated previously, such as those applied in the TTCI or CM, including only the elements related to culture, environment and climatic situation.

Additionally, the proposed model of study includes other productive variables, such as human and physical capital. In this model, these variables interact with the tourism variable, in such a way that relationships of complementariness or substitutability can be defined among them. All these variables and their relationships finally affect the economic growth. Thus, the definition of this model includes other productive factors for analysing the effect of the elements relating to tourism on economic activity, following the studies of [12] and [79]. Although, the inclusion of these other productive factors in this model does not generate biased results, as the definition of the tourism variable in this case does not include, nor depend upon, those same productive factors.

Therefore, this model considers that the territories have a series of resources that are attractive for tourists, and which, based on their interaction with the physical and human capital existing or developed in the territory, can positively affect the economic growth. These tourism variables thus have an effect on the economic growth, although that effect would additionally depend on the relationships with the other productive variables of the territory.
