THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL VALUES OF TRAVEL & TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS INDEX AND ITS PREDICTIVE POWERS ON TOURIST ARRIVALS IN AFRICA; PLS-SEM APPROACH

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the explanatory power of the sub-indices and pillars of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index on ITA taking Africa as a case. The study extended the epistemological articulations and empirical values of the TTCI by introducing ITA as a dependent variable. It took WEF's 7 years report on TTCI of 29 African economies. Results show that the predictive powers of half of TTCI Sub-indices as formative indicators to ITA are weak and negative. Analogously, the collinearity, validity, and reliability issues of sub-indices were substantially not resolved. These findings have implied that the TTCI has to articulate its predictive bearing before it can be accepted as an epistemologically and practically relevant concept that prescribes policy issues especially on the course of diagnosing the African Tourism ecosystem.

Keywords

• destination competitiveness
• ttci
• african tourism
• epistemology of competitiveness of competitiveness
• plssem approach