Revisiting destination competitiveness through chaos theory: The butterfly competitiveness model

Abstract

The second decade of this century has been characterized by a particular emphasis on the significance of safety and security in human life in general and in tourist decision-making in particular. This study is therefore a timely overview of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on various parts of the travel and tourism industry across the globe. Specifically, this study revisits the subject of destination competitiveness by introducing possible new actors and paradigms through the concepts of chaos theory and the butterfly effect. The study proposes a model, called the butterfly competitiveness model, to capture the edge of chaos of the tourism industry, the butterfly effects of COVID-19, cosmology, bifurcation events and behaviors, and health and safety-driven self-organization for destination competitiveness. It also clarifies the role of governments and health authorities as strange attractors in self-organization.