Tourist destination development and social network analysis: What does degree centrality contribute?

Abstract

AbstractTourist destinations are relational systems that can be studied through social network analysis (SNA). The paper analyses the structural properties of the networks of actors of three tourist destinations, focusing on the degree centrality indicator for socio‐centric networks and asymmetrical relationships to obtain the indegree (prestige) and outdegree (influence) of the various actors. The results strengthen the idea that there is a direct relationship between relational dynamics and the development of tourist destinations. It provides results that demonstrate how the relational structure changes as tourist destinations evolve, and how there is a direct relationship between the number of actors with high centrality and the development of tourist destinations.