TOURISM PRODUCT CLUB IN GENERATING THE VALUE CHAIN

Abstract

The increasing dynamics and turbulence of the tourism market encourage cooperation, networking and synergy in identifying competitive advantages based on innovation (speed) in order to create new value for the modern tourists. The paper explores the tourism product club as a response to the challenges of the 21st century tourism in the optimization of value chain and logistic processes aiming at permanent innovation of the tourism product. The goal is to provide a unique experience and emotion at minimum cost, multiplying the profit which will be reinvested in new intangible resources (information and knowledge) in the process of achieving excellence and product recognition. The paper examines the types of stakeholder associations aiming at valorising natural prerequisites and turning them into competitive advantages in the achievement of sustainable and responsible development. It synthesizes and builds on the theoretical and applied knowledge on the development of tourism product club and value chain management excellence and their interaction. The paper further investigates the potential interests and benefits for the stakeholders based on a new business philosophy of cooperation and value chain management. It presents the limits and proposals for the implementation of tourism product clubs in Croatian tourism. Tourism product club represents a new and insufficiently explored concept in both theory and practice ; the results of the research can be implemented in the development of a specific and recognizable destination product and value chain optimization.