Health and hygiene - factors of increasing the competitiveness in the tourism sector

Abstract

Tourism and travel are important stimuli of economic development as well as tourism competitiveness of countries. Despite its contribution to the economic growth, the development of the tourism sector can be hampered by a series of obstacles of a different nature, which can affect the competitiveness of this sector. Among these we could specify, health and hygiene in tourism, which represents a provision of the conditions to maintain public health and to make tourists feel safer, and tourist destinations to become more competitive. In this context, the purpose of this study is to analyze the importance and relationship between health and hygiene and destination competitiveness. Thus, emphasis was placed on the aspects that contribute to increasing the competitiveness of tourism and the health and safety of travelers. Through the tourism competitiveness index, the criteria that hold a dominant position in ensuring favorable conditions for tourists were highlighted. The results show that health and hygiene are important pillars that measure the competitiveness of the destination. The analysis indicates a positive correlation between the health and hygiene pillar and overall competitiveness.