Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access

Abstract

Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) of Tourism Destination Competitiveness in Ethiopia: The Tourists’ Perspective

Hiyab Gebretsadik Weldearegay

In this study the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) of Tourism Destination Competitiveness (TDC) in Ethiopia was conducted from the tourists’ perspective. 384 inbound tourists to Ethiopia were taken as a sample. Mapping the scores of attributes regarding their importance and performance against the Iso-Priority Line gave a meaning that the distribution of attributes in the graph were more skewed to the importance of attributes than the performance which speaks that Ethiopia as a tourist destination has more of homework to catch up and maintain its global competitive balance than more of a competitive advantage. Based on the market behavior of inbound tourists to Ethiopia, the important market wise deviation was observed only on the importance of two TDC constructs (amplifiers and demand condition) on North Americans and Africans, respectively. Through the IPA four quadrant grid, entry points of Ethiopian TDC were found that show how to deploy scarce resources to where they are needed most through demand based and context based interventions or public spending. A set of robust indicators that are short and ready for immediate application in Ethiopian context were found with a point of caution that these should be directly aligned with the geopolitical policy priorities so it can help the country compete with global economies of mature tourism sector.