Comparative Aspects On Some Benchmarking Models Applied In The Tourism Field At International Level

Benchmarking is a method of management that involves an organization to compare with other reference organizations (leaders) in its field and to adopt similar techniques with these leading organizations in order to improve its own performance. Particularly in the tourism field, instead of organizations we can also have tourist destinations (preferably managed through Destination Management Organizations –DMOs). The purpose of this paper is to present a short analysis of five well-established benchmarking models applied in the field of tourism at international level. In this regard, a number of issues related to data accessibility (dissemination), benchmarking types and benchmarking areas were discussed. Being used by the tourism industry, particularly by the private sector and also by the public sector, the five models might be considered as being representative for the tourism sector at international level. It has also been established that although the applicability of benchmarking in the field of tourism refers in most cases to the organizations operating in this field, there is a good representation of the area of applicability at the tourist destination level also.