Abstract
Tourism in the 21st century is being re-shaped by constant changes in consumer trends. The Danube, Europe’s second-longest river, has rich potential for tourism over its whole course, and river cruises offer superb opportunities to explore. This study aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the most important characteristics of cruise tourism on the Danube. In our research, a literature review (LR) and content analysis (CA) were used to examine trends in the inland waterway cruise sector, which, despite the growing interest in the product, is still not deemed to be a part of mass tourism. Danube cruise tourism relies heavily on alternative (niche) tourism features, which satisfy both cultural and authentic tourism preferences. Currently, many elements of niche tourism are missing from the product supply, but, with a modest addition of such features, the demand for the product could increase and its economic performance in the period following the expected recession would be enhanced.
Highlights
Tourism became a driving force for the movement of people in the 21st century
The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of Danube cruise tourism along with four factors: the identification of the main players (1), the targeting of key potential markets and their demands (2); showing the dominant niche elements involved in current itineraries (3); and, with these in mind, formulating product development proposals (4)
Some European research analyses Danube cruise tourism in more detail, e.g., [33,34,35], based on which we show the specifics of the industry
Summary
Tourism became a driving force for the movement of people in the 21st century. In addition to the common manifestations of the industry, several emerging trends (e.g., seeking for authenticity, digital revolution of services) are contributing to tourism being one of the engines of economic improvement worldwide. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of Danube cruise tourism along with four factors: the identification of the main players (1), the targeting of key potential markets and their demands (2); showing the dominant niche elements involved in current itineraries (3); and, with these in mind, formulating product development proposals (4). For these purposes, we used a literature review (LR) and content analysis (CA)
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