Measuring the vulnerability of tourist destinations to the availability of air transport, using multi-criteria composite indexes.

Abstract

Tourist destinations are vulnerable to the decisions of commercial stakeholders that may have different organisational priorities to theirs. A high level of tourism concentration, and dependence on certain airports and airlines, can increase the strategic risks and threaten the competitiveness of destinations. This paper develops a novel methodology to measure the vulnerability of tourist destinations to the availability of air transport through the use of composite indexes. The applicability of the methodology is demonstrated in Catalonia (Spain) from 2007 to 2017. The result is a rigorous control of easy interpretation that allows multiple analyses and flexible application to different circumstances. The system provides politicians and technical staff with the tools they need to have a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the vulnerability of their destination. It also provides robust data that can be used to analyse current policies, negotiate contractual conditions and prepare contingency plans for those instances where the collective needs at a destination differ from those of individual commercial stakeholders.