ABSTRACT
Gravitation was originally discovered by Newton, and it is known as a physical force that increases with mass and decreases with distance. Newton’s concept of gravitation was later adopted in the field of economics. Prior to the application of gravity models in tourism, a concern about the effect of spatial distance on consumer travel already existed. As explained earlier, both initial gravity models and existing extended gravity models lack important explanatory variables that would allow their results to apply to countries or phenomena beyond their specific research interests. The success of tourism destinations in world markets lies in the competitiveness of a destination. General infrastructures, such as transportation and communication, have been considered influential on bilateral flows for both ordinary trading goods. An RE model allows for different individual effects but requires stricter assumptions that the individual effects cannot be correlated with the covariates.
