engleski

All-day babysitting campus for tourists

Families with children of all ages are a traditional tourism target segment in Croatia. Trends show that family holidays, as well as demand for entertainment services, are on the rise. Along with the specialization of tourism products, the needs of this segment are recognized by a number of hoteliers and travel agencies whereas accommodation and other facilities, suitable for families, are emphasized. The problem addressed in this paper is the lack of adequate organized all-day child care for tourists. The possibility of sightseeing and taking part in a variety of activities during holidays, unaccompanied by children, would be greater. Guests of tourist facilities - hotels, resorts and campsites - have a greater choice, since there is an entertainment service, but it is usually not designed as an all-day service or as a babysitting service. The only options available to guests staying in private accommodation are playrooms or finding a babysitter. The aim of this paper is to propose a new tourism product, an all-day babysitting campus which would fill the existing gap on the supply side. The purpose is to point out the importance of families with children as market segment and to encourage tourism providers to be more engaged in catering for it by improving tourism entertainment for children. A comparison of the proposed model with similar, already existing products – tourism entertainment departments, playrooms and babysitting services is provided. The key benefits of a babysitting campus for tourists are: full-time working hours, pedagogically qualified staff with language skills and outdoor activities preformed whenever possible. The model of the babysitting campus besides directly enriching the existing tourism offer, contributes to guests’ consumption of other amenities and activities in the destination as well as to the holistic development of the children involved. It represents also a milestone as it separates entertainment in tourism from tourist facilities. The next goal for a babysitting campus is to enact an adequate legal regulative less rigid than those in force for kindergartens and children playrooms since most activities take place outdoor.

Tourism entertainment, children animation, tourism entertainment for children, outdoor child care

nije evidentirano