Applications of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in Empirical Studies Regarding the Croatian Tourism

Abstract

Tourism is one of the largest and continuously booming economic sectors globally that significantly contributes primarily to GDP, employment, and prosperity. The efficiency of this sector is, therefore, closely researched and investigated by scholars across the globe. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA henceforward) is one of the leading non-parametric methodologies that evaluates the performance and relative efficiency of complex and homogeneous entities called Decision-Making Units (DMUs). The main aim of this study is to explore, identify and present different applications of DEA in Croatian tourism, which is one of the sectors that contributes the most to the economy. Other goals are to present ten surveyed papers that employ the DEA methodology. To identify the surveyed studies, an extensive literature review has been conducted, and the Scopus, Web of Science, and CROSBI (Croatian Scientific Bibliography) databases have been browsed, with the keywords "DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS", "TOURISM" and "CROATIA". Furthermore, the study of Neralić and Gardijan Kedžo (2019) has been used as a foundation of the literature review. The key findings indicate that most of these ten surveyed papers employ the DEA BCC output-oriented model, and most of the analyzed time frame is from 2011 onwards.