engleski

River cruising: The role and marketing mix of destination ports of call

Market of international river cruising is one of the fastest growing segments of tourism with an annual growth rate of 10 to15%. Europe has the largest share in world on the market of river cruising where the most frequent cruises are on the Danube River and its tributaries and the canal of Rhein - Maine - Danube. Considering the aforementioned and the fact that the Croatian tourism product of river cruising is almost exclusively related to the Danube River, an opportunity is opened up for river cruises to be a significant contributor to the economic development of eastern Croatia. This is also supported by the current forecasts of ship and passenger traffic on cruises on the Danube in Croatia, which indicate a likely continued and accelerated increase in demand. Thus arises the problem of how to appropriately prepare to make the positive effects of this type of tourism for the region as large as possible. When considering the tourist product of river cruises and its specificities it is necessary to highlight the role of destination ports of call for shipping companies whose attractiveness plays a decisive role in the selection of destinations that will be included in companies itineraries. Ports or destinations with authentic and generally more attractive offers with greater availability of themed itineraries tailored to specific interests of tourists generate greater benefits from river cruising. By intensifying marketing activities towards the shipping companies and with the usage of marketing concept an increase can be achieved in the number of dockings of river ships in Croatian ports and harbors or the representation of Croatian destination ports of call in the itineraries of shipping companies. The aim of this paper is to determine the role played by the destination ports of call as part of the tourism product of river cruising and to suggest a marketing mix for destination ports of call that they have to effectively manage if they are to survive in the competitive environment on the dynamic international market of river cruising. For the purposes of collecting the primary data, the method of critical analysis was used on collected documents and interviewing method with key stakeholders of river cruising.

river cruising, destination ports of call, marketing mix, Danube, east Croatia

Zbornik je indeksiran u Thomson Reuters Web of Science.