Integrated Reporting as a Trend and Challenge for Benchmarking and Competitiveness of Camping-Business

Abstract

Purpose – To respond to the challenges of contributing to campsite benchmarking and performance reporting, following the fact that academic research has placed relatively little attention on the economic aspect of the camping business and that relevant reporting standards are missing, why campsites are not included in the global benchmarking process which is important for performance comparison and competitiveness assessment. Research Question – How is it possible to improve the current level of information for the Croatian camping business in a way that it will become more successful in the global tourism market? Design, Methodology, Approach – Based on a representative sample of 24%campsites in Croatia, the performance benchmarking methodology is critically evaluated through the existing model, with the direction to improve the framework of integrated reporting. Findings – The research results indicate that the current information presented through the existing campsite benchmarking model are insufficient for long-term decision making, primarily regarding sustainability, and the way of its improvement is proposed. Originality of the research – The theoretical contribution of the campsites’ benchmarking is recognized, as a part of the overall valorisation of the camping business performance, it also meets the expectations for the successful implementation of the research results in practice, as a basis for improving campsites’ competitiveness on the tourism market.

The significance of competitive pricing and revenue management in the camping industry

“…In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in revenue management in the hospitality industry. Revenue management can be explained as a set of tools and actions with the aim of achieving the desirable level of a hotel's revenues and gross operating profit (GOP) by identifying the right product to the right customers, at the right time, via the right distribution channel, at the right price and with the right mean of communication (Ivanov and Zhechev, 2012;Kimes and Wirtz, 2003;Peršić et al, 2017;Talluri et al, 2008;Van Ryzin and Talluri, 2005). It also means selling products and services to the most profitable mix of guests that generate the maximum revenue and optimal financial result.…”

“…The innovations in information technology and the development and growth of online travel agencies in hospitality industry have also transformed yield management into total revenue management. Namely, the following fact that asset management plays a more important role in the hospitality industry, revenue management is expanding in all other departments within the hotel industry (food and beverage, SPA, function space, sport, etc.…) The most significant modification in hotel revenue has been its development from a tactical inventory management method to a more strategic marketing instrument, as well as the way key performance indicators in revenue management are measured, through internal and external measurement framework (Kimes, 2016;Peršić et al, 2017).…”

“…Revenue management has evolved to its existing position as common business practice and a research field in a wide range of industries, not only airlines and hotels, but also restaurants, golf courses, shopping malls, telephone operators, conference centres (Ivanov, 2014) marina business (Janković and Vlašić, 2018) and other industries. Revenue management in the camping industry has not received suitable attention (Peršić et al, 2017). Thus, the contribution of this paper is in extending the literature by investigating how relative price position and relative price fluctuation influences performance in the campsite business.…”

“…To increase the overall profitability of the camping business, revenue management should play a vital role. In the field of revenue management, there is an extensive body of literature over the last 20 years, its application in camping industry, has not received any attention in specialised academic literature (Peršić et al, 2017). Hence, our research tries to partly change this fact by concentrating on the competitive pricing in the camping business, examining the effect of competitor pricing levels on relative campsite revenue in Croatian tourism.…”

Analysing the business model canvas of the camping industry using cluster analysis

“…From a methodological point of view, this research demonstrates how to cluster hospitality businesses (Urban et al, 2018; Mora Cortez et al, 2021; Hair et al, 1998). From a managerial implication perspective, this article provides a dedicated framework with which to enlighten predominant business models, highlight their competitive advantages (Porter, 1980) and benchmark them (Peršić et al, 2017).…”