MEASURING TOURISM EFFICIENCY OF NUTS II AREA OF THE ADRIATIC-IONIAN REGION

Abstract

The study investigated the method of “benchmarking” the NUTS II area cross over Adriatic-Ionian macro region according to the tourism indicators. In this research, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used for benchmarking tourism efficiency of 41 NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) II area Adriatic-Ionian Region. The period of interest is 2011-2014. Based on the three inputs data (number of persons employed, number of bed-places, arrivals) and two outputs (gross domestic product, nights spent) an output- oriented BCC DEA model was applied, indicating that eleven NUTS areas, out of 41, are efficient. As an extension of the basic DEA model, Malmquist method was introduced. According to the efficiency score and Malmquist index, the efficiency position of several NUTS II regions has not improved over the observed years. The general conclusion of this paper suggests that inefficient areas need to make the necessary effort to provide better tourist services. Efficiency results can be used in the following years, to analyze how well NUTS II area Adriatic-Ionian region utilizes strategy programs and to find the possibilities for further development of the tourism industry.