Competitiveness of Travel Agencies in the European Tourism Market

Abstract

Iris Mihajlovic University of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia  The concept of competitiveness influenced by many factors is analyzed in terms of terminology distinctions. This is the reason of numerous definitions of this term included in the first part of the paper, which varies according to the aspect of the analysis, analyzed marketing unit, tourism product, geographical unit, region, destination, or entities that offer an acceptable integrated product a package by specific indicators for comparison of elements of competitiveness. The first part of the article theoretically emphasizes the distinction in defining the concept of competitiveness from various aspects of the analyzed market subjects (different features and facilities provided), and from those aspects of their specific business relationship in the market. Special contribution to the study of competitiveness is contained in the second part of the paper that analyzes the existing situation of intermediation in the European tourism market. This research is based on using the data of descriptive statistics and the secondary research which gives insights into the business of travel agencies, using the data such as number of employees, annual personnel costs, and the average annual cost per person employed in travel agencies in some European countries. The changes in the environment, and the competition initiate a need for an analysis of the internal environment, travel agencies’ tasks, and their organizational structure. Also, the results conducted research on a sample of 500 travel agencies in 20 European countries indicate the dominance of quality service, price, and value for money as key factors of demand for achieving the competitiveness. It indicates new trends focused on needs for more specific—integrated tourist products that ensure the quality of service, value for money, and for the time that tourists invest in their obtaining.