Abstract
Specialized tourists offer in the post covid time is an important reason in choosing the destination to travel to. A new perception of this offer puts new challenges to those who design such offers. Most specialized offers are the result of entrepreneurial initiative and intuition. Authors have dealt with the creation of such offers as an important destination concurrent factor in their own cross-border cooperation. Based on their findings, they have developed a model of creating specialized tourism products for post covid time by linking core, additional, and expanded contents with brand creation and the marketing strategy. In this paper authors continue their research by testing that model through two platforms: desk research of the latest cognitions related to the repercussions of Covid-19 on tourist mind, and on a convenient sample of connoisseurs. The testing of the model is connected with one case study in which authors cooperate in practice. The findings have been tested through a survey on a sample of experts (representatives of travel agencies) related to their experiences in sales for 2020 and 2021.They have also found important changes in tourist perception of specialized tourist product. The findings offer the answers as to why the basic contents of the specialized tourist offer is no longer sufficient, as well as a way for developing additional and expanded contents, on which the brand and brand management activities in the post corona period should be primarily based, i.e. on what to base the marketing strategies in the post covid time.
Highlights
Before the outbreak of the covid 19 pandemic during the last decade there have been changes in the behaviour of tourists when choosing a destination, and changes in preferences towards tourist offers (Cooper, 2021; Baggio, 2020; Buhalis & Sinarta, 2019; Buhalis et al 2019; Richards, 2019; Nunkoo et al, 2019; Boes et al 2016)
Tourists’ awareness of the importance of preserving the environment, striving to get closer to the local population and an increasing interest in the indigenous products suggest that the additional and expanded contents of the specialized tourist offer is more intensively emphasized in the marketing strategy and brand
Modern technological solutions contribute to the impression of originality and quality of a specialized tourist product
Summary
Before the outbreak of the covid 19 pandemic during the last decade there have been changes in the behaviour of tourists when choosing a destination, and changes in preferences towards tourist offers (Cooper, 2021; Baggio, 2020; Buhalis & Sinarta, 2019; Buhalis et al 2019; Richards, 2019; Nunkoo et al, 2019; Boes et al 2016). The authors have come to similar conclusions in their own research (Šerić et al 2020C; Šerić & Marušić, 2019; Šerić & Batalić, 2018; Šerić et al 2017) The findings of these studies warn us that the originality of the specialized tourist offer is no longer a sufficient prerequisite for competitiveness. Due to the growing possibilities of selection within the category of similar basic contents (destinations, hotels), the decision on the final choice is increasingly made on the basis of additional and expanded contents of the offer Given this fact, the authors define a research question RQ1: Given the growing importance of additional and expanded contents in choosing a tourist destination, should it be significantly implemented in the marketing strategy and brand of the tourist product?. For the purposes of testing the basic research question, the authors will use a specific specialized tourism product in the development of which they participate based on scientific cross-border cooperation between the Republic of Croatia and Montenegro - mini smart eco village Zelenika, Herceg Novi, Montenegro
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