The purpose of the paper is to present benefit segmentation of visitors to Portorož, a mature seaside Mediterranean destination, during a phase of repositioning, to understand whether it attracts visitors who seek benefits other than just passive leisure, which characterized Portorož in the past. Four distinct segments of visitors and their characteristics were identified. The largest segment, ‘well‐being visitors’, is looking for physical activity and convenience. The results give us better insight into the demand side; on the other hand, they have practical implications for tourism suppliers, who try to adapt their product to new conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
In addition to theoretical arguments advocating various advantages of industrial networking, many examples of good practices and positive experiences can be found worldwide. Therefore, in many countries political measures have implemented to boost strategic partnership between companies. Nevertheless, examples of good practices of networking in the hospitality business are still relatively rare. In this paper, results of a study on the potentials for good practice in this regard and some reasons for the current state of poor networking in the Slovene hospitality sector are presented. The research consists of two parts. Managers of hospitality companies and leaders of two formal networks were interviewed for this purpose. The quantitative approach with Likert-type ordinal scale was used with the former group, while semi-structured interview and qualitative analysis was employed for the latter. The results revealed some interesting differences in the operational focus between formal and informal networks in terms of goals sought by their members. Strategic cooperation with the suppliers turned out to be the most common field of networking, while the principal obstacles for more intensive networking seem to lie in the conservative character of managers in the hospitality business, distrust and lack of time and organizational knowledge. This research fills the gap in dealing with industrial networking by confronting formal and informal strategic cooperation praxes in hospitality business.
Purpose Through investigation and comparisons between tourists and restaurant managers regarding their understanding of traditional music and their attitudes, expectations and assigned importance to it, this paper aims to identify the most problematic aspects of the (non)inclusion of traditional music in restaurant settings in tourist destinations. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a field survey of tourists and managers/owners of catering establishments in the four municipalities of Slovenian Istria. Findings The results show that tourists attach a relatively high importance to this element of cultural heritage and that it is not sufficiently included in the overall product of the destination and in the catering establishments. Differences in the understanding of traditional music between the two groups were also found. Research limitations/implications The research limitations are, namely, a relatively small sample of managers for the quantitative analysis, the particular nature of the chosen destination which does not allow generalization of the results and finally, the study was conducted in the high season when the structure of tourists is significantly different compared to that in the mid and low season. Practical implications The findings bring some useful insights into tourists’ expectations and understanding of traditional music as part of the tourism experience for catering establishments’ managers and destination management organizations. By addressing the identified gaps, they can enrich the overall tourism product of the destination, while catering operators can achieve better business results. Social implications The more frequent and cogent inclusion of traditional music in the hospitality sector would provide a new social function and raison d'être for this segment of cultural heritage, which is in danger of being forgotten in many tourist destinations. Originality/value This research addresses a widely overlooked area of two interrelated fields of research, namely, hospitality and cultural heritage. Unlike the majority of previous research on this topic, which only involves actual guests, the present research is designed as a comprehensive investigation and comparison of the attitudes of the general population of actual tourists in the destination (as potential guests of the inns/restaurants) and managers of catering businesses operating in the destination.
The article deals with a modestly researched topic about the attitude of the general tourist population towards the traditional music of the destination. The concept of traditionalism itself is complex, and there are no clear objective criteria for what is and what is not 'traditional.' Tourism brings additional dynamics to the local community in the process of (re)defining its tradition. Although traditional music is an important element of the intangible cultural heritage of any destination, there is relatively little research on the perception, understanding and attitudes of the general tourist population towards traditional music. We believe that the misunderstanding of tourists' wishes, expectations and knowledge of traditional music is at least partly the cause of inappropriate representations of traditional music in tourism. By conducting a survey in the case of Slovenian Istria, a destination with a markedly untapped potential of traditional music, we investigated the factors determining it and its importance in the eyes of tourists. We also studied the differences between tourist segments. The chosen geographical area is highly multicultural and has had a turbulent political and migrant history, which makes it specific and at the same time very suitable for the purpose of the research.
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