Is Tourism Becoming More Globally Interconnected or Regionally Concentrated? A Network Analysis Approach

This study investigates the extent of regional concentration and global interconnectedness in international tourism flows using network science analytical tools. To this end, we algorithmically detect international tourism communities and investigate whether tendencies toward regionalization and globalization differ across different communities and groups of countries. A cross-country dataset consisting of 190 origin and destination countries over the period 1995 to 2021 is used for the empirical analysis. The results show that the international tourism network is predominantly regionally concentrated, and this pattern has strengthened over time. Our findings highlight that mesoscale network structures in tourism can serve as a foundation for predicting future tourism trends. This challenges the notion that this sector is primarily driven by globally interconnected factors. Policies promoting international destination marketing on a regional basis and collaboration in marketing regional tourism destinations can help countries gain a competitive edge, such as reaching a wider audience.