Innovation in Regional Tourism and Competitiveness: conceptual approach and application trial

Abstract

Although the number of studies on regional competitiveness and innovation has considerably grown in literature, there is still a notable lack of research addressing the convergence between the two themes, especially concerning the symmetry between the attributes, dimensions, and scale of application of each construct. Taking as premise that innovation is a factor of competitiveness for tourist destinations and regions and that, therefore, they are matters that should be addressed at the same time, this study addresses this gap and suggests a single construct integrating factors that affect the capacity for innovation and competitiveness of these regions. Qualitative analysis of the content of the different models of competitiveness of destinations in comparison with the models of innovation generated significant results, among them the identification of important convergence between factors that influence both phenomena, the classification of the factors between convergent and complementary, and the proposition of a holistic model of innovation for regional-scale analysis with specific focus on tourism.