Relationships between road transport infrastructure and tourism spending: A development approach in European OECD countries

Road transport infrastructure is an attribute whose importance is increasingly emphasized in the context of a circular and sustainable economy. However, the link between this attribute and tourism spending has not been sufficiently examined. Therefore, with an emphasis on the level of development of European countries included in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the research objective of this study was to assess the links between selected indicators of road transport and tourism spending. The analytical processing included economic data provided by international organizations and collected for the period 2010–201. Specifically, Human Development Index (HDI), Global Innovation Index (GII), Density of road (DENSITY), Share of urban roads (URBAN), Road infrastructure investment (INVEST), Business tourism spending (BTS), Leisure tourism spending (LTS), Domestic tourism spending (DTS), Foreign visitors spending (VEFS). The research sample consisted of European OECD countries (n = 26). Cluster analysis (Partition Around Medoids) divided selected countries based on HDI and GII into two clusters (less developed and more developed countries). The use of descriptive analysis together with analysis of differences (Mann – Whitney test) showed significant differences between these two clusters in most indicators (DENSITY, INVEST, BTS, LTS, DTS), while their higher values were measured in more developed countries with the exception of INVEST. Differences between clusters of countries were also revealed by correlation analysis (Spearman's ρ). In countries with a lower level of development, a panel regression analysis confirmed significant positive associations between DENSITY and tourism spending (BTS, LTS, VEFS). The results indicated that the development of countries played an important role in evaluating the links examined in this study. In less developed countries, progress in the development of road infrastructure could be associated with increased tourism spending.