Multilevel understanding dynamic changes in inbound tourist flow network (ITFN) structure: topology, collaboration, and competitiveness

He Zhu

Current Issues in Tourism, 2021, vol. 24, issue 14, 2059-2077

Abstract: The network theory is having an important role in tourism research, which provides a useful lens for understanding the structures and interrelations among tourism destinations. This paper analyzes the structure of China’s inbound tourist flow network (ITFN) in a dynamic view, from three levels: the global, the meso, and the individual, meanwhile the correlation between network structure and tourism performance is verified. The interpretation of ITFN structure has been divided into three meanings: the global-level metrics identify the holistic topology, the meso-level metrics are used to understand collaboration, and the individual-level metrics work for competitiveness assessing. China’s case shows the ITFN has a small-world characteristic but gradually becomes weak, the collaboration clusters become more, and the difference of competitiveness among regions has amplified. Moreover, the small-world nature and individual competitiveness have positive impacts on tourism performance, but the correlation between performance and clustering coefficient is significantly negative.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2020.1842341

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