engleski

Tourism product clubs: Theory, added value and practical implications

Purpose – Tourism products clubs (TPC) are a relatively recent form of collaboration of stakeholders in a destination. Contrary to the many available examples of existing practice, research on the topic is limited. This paper aims to contribute to expanding the scope of existing research by reviewing the current practice and investigating the practical potential of its implementation by exploring the interest, the feasibility and the willingness to fund a culture- based TPC on the Cres- Lošinj archipelago. Methodology – Qualitative research is used to contribute to the synthesis of new findings about TPCs and serves as the basis for quantitative research. A structured self- administered online questionnaire is used to collect data from the entire population (census method) of top and middle managers of the largest company on the archipelago. Findings – TPCs establishment is always, without exceptions, technically and financially supported by relevant tourism authorities. Positive stakeholders’ attitude towards TPCs is confirmed, as well as their reluctance to embark this journey without such support. The TPCs built around cultural and creative industries are less common than those related to nature and food. Contribution - This paper proposes a concise definition of a TPC, defines its key characteristics, synthesises its objectives and proposes their classification and prerequisites thus offering a scientific contribution to the limited theoretical framework on TPCs at the same time confirming by quantitative research the findings stemming out of qualitative one.

tourism product club ; tourism product ; service innovation ; cultural and creative industries

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