International tourism hub: Function assessment and application

• Fang Meng ^[1] ; Tongqian Zou ^[2] ; Hengyun Li ^[1] ; Yaqing Ren ^[2] ; Pei Zhang ^[1]
  1. [1] University of South Carolina

     University of South Carolina

     Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] Beijing International Studies University

     Beijing International Studies University

     China

     
• Localización: Tourism economics: the business and finance of tourism and recreation, ISSN 1354-8166, Vol. 22, Nº. Extra 6, 2016 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Developments in the field of Tourism Economics), págs. 1225-1244
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This study investigates the functions of international tourism hubs, namely, the gathering and distributing function, transferring function, and management and service function. An assessment index of 49 indicators is developed measuring these functions based on the literature review and a survey of expert panel. Analytical hierarchy process method was applied to determine the importance weight of the indicators. Two cities in China, Beijing and Shanghai, were selected to empirically test the assessment index and compared with the tourism hub functions. The results indicate that Beijing has stronger functions on gathering and distributing tourists, as well as management and services, while Shanghai exceeded on transferring function due to its tourist distribution center. Strategic and managerial implications and suggestions are provided based on the study results.