Comparative Advantage: Explaining Tourism Flows

The objective of this paper is to explain international tourism flows in terms of supply-side factors associated with its production in destination countries. Unlike demand-oriented analysis, the study suggests that there are parallels between tourism and international trade flows that are typically explained from the supply-side variables, the comparative advantage of the exporting countries. A simple model is proposed and tested. The results render strong support for the relevance of supply-side factors such as natural endowments, technology, and infrastructure in explaining international tourism flows.