CENTRAL AND EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES’ TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS AS A FACTOR OF THEIR NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS LEVEL

The purpose of this research is to analyze the contribution of travel & tourism competitiveness to the global competitiveness level of the Central and East Europe (CEE) countries. The aim is to identify the correlation between the achieved travel & tourism competitiveness level (measured by the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index) and national competitiveness level on the world list (measured by the Global Competitiveness Index) in the CEE countries. Structurally, the paper is composed of the following parts: competitiveness analysis of CEE countries according to the GCI and TTCI, examination of interdependence between the GCI and TTCI, and exploration of the pillar’s impact, within the TTCI, on the GCI in CEE countries. Research results indicate that there is a strong correlation between the GCI and TTCI. The results of this study provide possible directions to development policy makers in CEE countries.