The Effect of Perceptions on Tourism: An Econometric Analysis of the Impacts and Opportunities for Economic and Financial Development in Albania and Kosovo

• Published in: Sustainability 2022-07, Vol.14 (13), p.7659
• Main Authors: Tase, Mirela, Lulaj, Enkeleda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Competitiveness; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cultural heritage; Developing countries; Econometrics; Economic development; Economic growth; Factor analysis; Foreign languages; GDP; Gross Domestic Product; Impact analysis; LDCs; Multiple regression analysis; Pandemics; Perceptions; Regional development; Reliability analysis; Security; Sustainability; Sustainable development; Tourism; Tourism development; Tourists; Travel
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su14137659

Today, tourism plays an important role in the economic and financial development of countries, and its impact is greater than ever. Therefore, for sustainable economic and financial growth and well-planned development, public and private investments should be directed to areas of priority tourism development. Research on the effect of perceptions on the behavior of tourists in these two countries has not been carried out before, thus, the purpose of this research is to determine whether the effects of the perception of tourists has an impact on economic and financial development based on factors (F1 (f.1.1 and f.1.2) and F2 (f.2.1 and f. 2.2)). For this study, the data were provided by respondents from several cities in Albania and Kosovo. A total of 1002 questionnaires divided into three sessions were analyzed using factor analysis, data reliability analysis, and multiple regression analysis. All analyses were performed using SPSS version 23.0 for Windows. In this case, 23 variables were tested and divided into two factors and five sub-factors. The results showed that special attention should be paid to the following factors: (a) awareness of tourists of facilities in tourist destinations where they would like to visit; (b) greater knowledge of foreign languages for residents of both countries, which could facilitate communication with tourists during purchases or other requests; (c) attracting new investors and the creation by the government bodies of conditions and security for both investors and tourists; (d) supporting the marketing and sale of local products for tourists; (e) the need for infrastructure support from government bodies in both countries in order to increase economic and financial well-being through tourism; (f) the need to implement strategies focusing on the sustainable development of both countries through tourism should be strengthened; (g) in terms of sustainable development and regional competitiveness, Kosovo and Albania should follow development trends and be competitive with other countries in the region. The implications of this paper relate only to certain studied variables, and only in certain cities of Albania and Kosovo. In case of future analysis by different researchers, other variables can be analyzed for different locales by making comparisons with the presented data.