Tourist distribution in Northern Mediterranean Basin countries: 2004-2020

Area of Science:

• Tourism research
• Environmental economics
• Regional science

Background:

• The Mediterranean coast is a vital tourism hub.
• Understanding tourist distribution is key for sustainable management.
• Previous studies have not comprehensively analyzed Mediterranean tourist distribution using inequality indices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of measuring the European Mediterranean touristic ecosystem.
• To analyze the distribution and inequality of annual tourist gains across Mediterranean countries.
• To explore factors influencing coastal tourism distribution.

Main Methods:

• Utilized secondary data from the World Bank (2004-2020) for 13 Mediterranean countries.
• Applied Atkinson, Theil, and Hoover inequality indices to analyze tourist distribution.
• Employed a mixed-methodology approach supported by bibliometric analysis.

Main Results:

• Overall improvement in tourist distribution was observed across the study period.
• A decline in tourist distribution was noted in 2016 and significantly in 2020.
• The Hoover Index highlighted the most substantial decline in 2020.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a novel analysis of Mediterranean tourist distribution using established inequality indices.
• Findings suggest significant managerial implications for coastal tourism planning.
• The research contributes original insights into the dynamics of the Mediterranean touristic ecosystem.