The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between sustainability and tourism competitiveness and potential differences in these parameters between geographical regions. The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) of the World Economic Forum is most commonly used to measure tourism competitiveness, however, this index has been criticized by some academics. We propose a synthetic indicator (I^mα) using the multicriteria double reference point method, which can measure tourism competitiveness more accurately by applying different degrees of substitutability among pillars. The Sustainable Development Index (SDG Index) frames the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and was used to analyze sustainability data. The new tourism competitiveness index (I^mα) was obtained at both the global and regional level. It is important to note that some countries have a different ranking in the regional and global tourism competitiveness indexes, which shows a different behaviors among regions. The relationship between sustainability and tourism competitiveness is positive in all the analyses performed, though it is stronger when calculated without allowing substitutability, especially when considering the regional index. These trends show the value of this regional study of tourism competitiveness, because in addition to helping managers develop strategies to improve tourism competitiveness, it allows them to know the effect that these strategies will have on sustainability.

The aim of this article is to analyze the influence of the weights when building a tourism competitiveness (TC) synthetic indicator. The most frequently used index is the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which is composed of 14 pillars organized into four subindexes. However, this index has been criticized especially regarding the weights. This study measures the weights using statistical methods and analyzes if they affect countries according to their stage of development. Subsequently, we applied these weights to the TTCI and to four TC synthetic indexes calculated by applying multicriteria techniques and we obtained different scenarios. These synthetic indexes enable a more realistic measurement of TC, so we analyze whether the ranking differences caused by variations in the pillar’s weights were equally relevant in the TTCI as in the different indexes proposed. We demonstrate how the choice of these weights benefits some countries while harming others.

Sustainability is one of the main challenges of society. Progress in operational tools that help with environmental management and decision-making is slower and more complex than expected. The objective of the research is to show the usefulness of calculating composite indicators of environmental sustainability as a management tool. The proposed scientific model applies a multicriteria analysis, in an aggregate approach, with a double reference point (reservation and aspiration levels), incorporating the opinions of experts, and making the concepts of strong and weak sustainability operational. The method is applied to the eight provinces of Andalusia (Spain), using the official data published by the Regional Ministry of Environment. The results show that the indicators obtained are especially useful for the management of the territory, because they serve as an absolute measure of environmental sustainability. Besides, they enable global and specific analyzes of each indicator, they easily identify the strengths and weaknesses of each territory, and they provide an alert system to prevent problems and help to make strategic decisions. The methodology is innovative, fast and without excessive economic cost.