Destination competitiveness and resident well-being

Abstract

The paper presents arguments for integrating resident wellbeing outcomes into destination competitiveness analysis. Despite increasing acknowledgment that resident well-being is the primary objective of achieving destination competitiveness, the established frameworks fail to accord it a central role in performance assessment. A well-being index is proposed for this purpose. Constructing this index will necessitate the development of well-being measures to assess destination competitiveness in addition to the standard destination performance indicators. Several important challenges for tourism stakeholders are identified. Expected outcomes of the discussion include greater insight into the sources and goals of destination competitiveness, appreciation of the importance of resident well-being in destination competitiveness analysis, and the implications of this for analysis and policy making.