Abstract

This work combines several analytical techniques, including data envelopment analysis (DEA) models and the canonical analysis model, in order to shed new light on the relative efficiency of international tourism development. This study analyzes the international tourism development in the 31 regions of China. For the analysis, we take the following inputs into consideration: the number of international travel agencies, employees of international travel agencies. As regards the outputs, we choose the number of international tourists, sales for international travel agencies,and foreign exchange earnings from travel. In the first stage, we use the canonical analysis model to investigate the correlations of related variables. In the second stage, we adopt DEA models, including Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes (CCR),Banker, Charnes, and Cooper (BCC) and slacks-based measure (SBM), to analyze the relative efficiency of international tourism development. Finally, we provide some management suggestions for the development of international tourism industry in emerging China.

Key words: International tourism industry, canonical analysis, data envelopment analysis (DEA), slacks-based measure (SBM).