The impact of tourism on airport efficiency: The Spanish case

This paper considers the impact of tourism on airports efficiency. Using stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) methods, an input-oriented distance function was estimated for a sample of 35 Spanish airports over the 2009 to 2016 period. Air transport and tourism are highly connected. Results suggest that tourist-oriented airports may achieve higher efficiency levels than non-touristic ones. We also demonstrate a relationship between airline business models for tourist arrivals and airport efficiency. Airports with higher shares of "low-cost carrier" passenger traffic appear to perform more efficiently. By comparison, airports with higher shares of “charter passenger” traffic appear to perform less efficiently.