The logistic product of bicycle destinations

Abstract

Purpose – of the study is to indicate the path of much needed segmentation in the Croatian tourist supply. Therefore, it aims to identify the destination-specific elements of bicycle destinations in Europe, within the context of cycle tourism demand. Design – While the quality of the tourist product is proportional to the level of logistics implementation and the rivalry on the tourist market is supply chain-based, the focus is on a crucial element of tourist supply chain management—information. Methodology – The study recognizes both counterparts on the market, although highlighting the tourist supply. The data on supply was collected by researching the internet information sources available to cycle tourists while making travel decisions. Findings on the destinations’ logistic product variables are compared to criteria set by the researched cycle tourism demand. Approach – This small-scale research of bicycle tourism supply aims at testing the selected criteria for the purpose of a sequential wider research oriented towards providing a list of possible upgrades for Croatian destinations. Findings – Among all features attributable to a destination, research demonstrated that the cycle tourists’ primary focus is on information accessibility. The cycling-specific supply recognizes this information dependency and targets the market by a variety of needed information, while general tourist sites often lack complete information. Value – Similar research of bicycle tourism does not exist. The field is mainly contributed to trough conceptual discussions and studies of existing practice. This research establishes to what extent the demand and supply side match by identifying the common attributes of cycle tourism destinations.