Evaluating tourism competitiveness of small island developing states: a revealed comparative advantage approach

Abstract

This paper analyses the competitiveness of eighteen small island developing states (SIDS) over the period 2000–2007 employing the technique of revealed comparative advantage. We find that most SIDS had at the very least a weak comparative advantage on average. Of particular note, the results indicate that competitiveness in most SIDS increased over the sample period. However, in spite of their improvements, none of the countries at any point in time displayed a strong comparative advantage. This would then call for a need for policy makers in SIDS to further upgrade their tourism products in order to improve competitiveness and sustain tourism.

Keywords:

• SIDS
• tourism competitiveness
• revealed comparative advantage