Journal of Tourism and Development

Journal of Tourism and Development

Economic Diplomacy and Smart Targeting in Attracting Foreign Tourists: An Analysis of the Comparative Advantage of Priority Origins

Document Type : Original Article

Author
AbdolMohammad Kashian
Associate Professor, Economics Department, Faculty of Economics, Management, and Administrative Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran
10.22034/jtd.2025.521354.3063
Abstract
One of the most significant functions of economic diplomacy is prioritizing countries worldwide to set strategic goals in marketing and attracting foreign customers. In the tourism industry, this goal can be achieved through leveraging economic diplomacy and creating diplomatic frameworks, enabling optimal attraction of foreign tourists. Considering this, the present study seeks to answer the question: Which countries have the highest comparative advantage for economic diplomacy targeting, based on revealed preferences in foreign tourism? This research employs the Concentration Ratio and Adjusted Revealed Comparative Advantage (KARCA) indices. Using reliable international data from 20 countries with over 15,000 tourists visiting Iran, it identifies priority countries for the country’s diplomatic apparatus to target. The findings indicate that Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, Georgia, and Kuwait are the top nine countries with the highest potential for attracting foreign tourists to Iran. Targeting these countries could significantly contribute to the development of foreign tourism. Five key factors are common among these origin countries: geographic proximity, shared cultural and historical ties, economic and political relations, market potential, and financial capacity of tourists, as well as their history of tourism in Iran. Furthermore, the study shows that the concentration ratio index for the top three countries with the highest number of tourists to Iran (CR3) is 70%, a relatively large figure. While this high concentration can enhance the focus of the country’s economic diplomacy apparatus, it also introduces a relatively high vulnerability to external shocks.
Keywords
Economic Diplomacy
Tourism
Targeting
Concentration Ratio
KARCA
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