Tourism product and destination positioning

Abstract

A modern tourist product, which is adjusted to the needs of new tourists no longer includes a tourist partnership role, but individualisation and personalisation of the experience itself. Should such a base be accepted, it is to be concluded that traditional positioning of destination tourist offers on both macro and micro levels is no longer sufficient, i.e. positioning based on comparative advantages. By traditional positioning, it is not possible to differentiate the tourist offer from the competitors' tourist offer, which ultimately implies a request for competitive tourist offer positioning, enriched by new requirements and needs. Such an approach negates the conventional attitude that the existence and availability of comparative advantages is, in itself, sufficient in order to generate tourist demand and creation of competitive experience economy. Objective of this paper aims to offer a different approach to the competitive positioning of tourist destinations including positioning on the basis of the experience economy. The development of tourist products established on experience as the key exchange value requires an interdisciplinary approach, which, together with the applied marketing activities and competitive positioning through identity affirmation, leads to the tourist offer positioning from the point of view of the experience economy.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n19p570