Improving the competitiveness of tourism destinations is crucial for driving local economies and achieving income growth. In light of this evidence, numerous government departments strive to assess specific factors that impact the competitiveness of tourism destinations, enabling them to issue appropriate new tourism policies that promote more effective forms of tourism business. Therefore, the primary objective of this paper is to investigate how various elements such as tourism resources, tourism support, tourism management, location conditions, and tourism demand influence regional competitiveness in the Northern Bay region of Guangxi Province in China. To accomplish this goal, an online survey was conducted to collect data from 420 visitors who had experienced North Gulf Tourism; yielding an impressive response rate of 95 percent. The findings reveal that all aforementioned factors—namely: Tourism resources, tourism support, tourism management, location conditions and tourist demand—significantly impact destination competitiveness. Notably though, it was found that among these factors influencing destination competitiveness; it is primarily determined by effective local-level management (β = 0.345). Following closely behind are tourist demand (β = 0.133) as the second most influential factor affecting destination competitiveness; followed by location conditions (β = 0.116) ranking third; then comes tourist support (β = 0.03) as fourth in line impacting destination competitiveness; finally with least impact being exerted by available tourist resources (β = 0.016). Consequently, highlighting that regional competitiveness within Guangxi’s Northern Bay area predominantly hinges on efficient local-level management practices thus strongly recommending relevant authorities formulate novel work policies aimed at enhancing levels of local-level competitive advantage within the realm of regional touristic offerings.

Intellectual capital is one of the most crucial determinants of long-term economic development. The countries compete for highly skilled labor and talented youth. State regulatory interventions aim to, on the one hand, facilitate the retention of foreign high-productivity intellectual capital in the host country, transforming ‘educational’ and ‘scientific’ migrants into residents, and on the other hand, prevent the outflow of their own qualified workforce. The paper aims to outline the role of the nation’s higher education system in the influx and outflow of labor resources. A two-stage approach is applied: 1) maximum likelihood—to cluster the EU countries and the potential candidates to become members of EU countries based on the integrated competitiveness of their higher education systems, considering quantitative, qualitative, and internationalization aspects; 2) logit and probit models—to estimate the likelihood of net migration flow surpassing baseline cluster levels and the probability of migration intensity changes for each cluster. Empirical findings allow the identification of four country clusters. Forecasts indicate the highest likelihood of increased net migration flow in the second cluster (66.7%) and a significant likelihood in the third cluster (23.4%). However, the likelihood of such an increase is statistically insignificant for countries in the first and fourth clusters. The conclusions emphasize the need for regulatory interventions that enhance higher education quality, ensure equal access for migrants, foster population literacy, and facilitate lifelong learning. Such measures are imperative to safeguard the nation’s intellectual potential and deter labor emigration.

This study aims to structure guidelines for an intervention model from the perspective of Integral Project Management to improve the competitiveness level of cacao associations in south region of Colombia. The research followed a mixed-method approach with a non-experimental cross-sectional design and a descriptive scope. The study employed a stage-based analytical framework which included: identifying the factors influencing the competitiveness of the cacao sector; grouping these factors under the six primary determinants of competitiveness with reference to Porter’s Diamond Model; and proposing guidelines for an intervention model to enhance the competitiveness of the studied associations through project management. The first stage was conducted via literature review. The second stage involved primary data collected through surveys and interviews with the associations, members, and cacao sector experts in Huila. The third stage entailed grouping the factors within the main determinants that promote and limit the competitiveness of the cacao sector in the context of Porter’s Diamond Model. Based on the analysis of the corresponding restrictive and promoting factors, strategic recommendations were formulated for the various sector stakeholders on the measures that can be adopted to address restrictive factors and maintain promoting factors to enhance and sustain the sector's competitiveness.

The aim of the research is to prove that nowadays the role of higher education, its impact on “territorial capital” and the factors of their competitiveness measurement have changed. Competitiveness should no longer be measured only in terms of rankings between higher education institutions, but also in terms of their role in territorial capital. Examining the extension of a competitiveness measurement model developed for small and medium-sized enterprises to the field of higher education can be exciting because the competitive situation between higher education institutions is strengthening, and its aspects are not limited to winning tender funds and the competition for students. The subject of this study is the Central European higher education in general and the Hungarian higher education specifically. Higher education as it appears in regional strategic documents, and the regional, third mission role of higher education institutions appearing in their strategic documents. In terms of methodology: the first part of the paper is based on document and content analysis. In the second part of the paper, institutional characteristics that may influence competitiveness are identified in the case of a Hungarian higher education institution with SME characteristics. The research concludes that the impact on territorial capital, together with the traditional characteristics of higher education and its third missionary role, may constitute the competitiveness of a given institution. If the impact of higher education institutions on location could be measured uniformly, competition between institutions would be more transparent and the role of the region would be strengthened.

The Urabá region, known for its banana production, faces significant challenges due to seasonal droughts that affect crop productivity. The implementation of innovative technologies, such as efficient irrigation systems, is presented as a potential solution to improve the sustainability and profitability of plantations. This study validates the implementation of an irrigation system in a banana (Musa spp.) plantation located in the region of Urabá, in order to meet the water needs of the crop during periods of drought. A case study was carried out in a banana plantation in the region of Urabá, considering the maximum and minimum monthly losses due to drought, and a random sample was used to measure the weight before and after the implementation of the irrigation system, in order to carry out an economic analysis. The study shows that the implementation of a sprinkler irrigation system increases the average weight of the harvested bunches by 20%, which is reflected in an annual increase of 30.3% of exported boxes, obtaining satisfactory results in terms of internal rate of return, cost-benefit ratio and return on investment. The implementation of irrigation systems makes it possible to increase competitiveness in international markets, especially in regions such as Urabá, where the use of these technologies is still incipient.

Imagining people’s functions in everyday life and work without the use of ICT, seems difficult. Their application is ubiquitous everywhere, regardless of which aspect it is viewed from, because it has a strong function in ensuring the competitiveness of various systems at the micro and macro levels. Numerous national and multinational strategies try to encourage educational systems to put a greater focus on ICT to more efficiently acquire skills, competencies, and knowledge, which should represent added value to all generations in the future. This article analyzes the progress of the ICT development index (IDI) in Scandinavian countries by comparing these countries in the European region. It is known that the Scandinavian countries belong to that part of the countries that have recognized the importance of involving ICT in education programs, which improves the economy of a certain country. Given this, the research reveals how ICTs play a key role in improving socio-economic development in Scandinavian countries.