Abstract
The coastline of Portofino, Italy, a famous destination for the rich and famous, attracts thousands of visitors each year. Tourism product owners constitute a significant component of the competitive environment in this area in order to claim a piece of the tourism pie. For the local dive operators, the situation tends to be even more difficult when dealing with strict regulations concerning the marine protected area and a specific market. The identification of critical success factors could offer some insight into the management of these operations. In order to accomplish this, a qualitative research approach was followed by interviewing eight dive operators in the area of Portofino. It was clear that the critical success factor to manage a dive operation was unique to this area and differs from other tourism products by adopting a unique customer relations approach, an emphasis on safety, and the focus on providing a signature product. These results could assist managers of dive operations in identifying new opportunities in terms of management and sought out threats to the business.
Highlights
Scuba diving tourism, like many other forms of tourism, has witnessed unprecedented growth in competition from a supply side, which implies that more entrepreneurs are starting diving operations
Results of the key success factors Section B of the questionnaire focused on the main objective of this study, that is, to determine the critical success factors
Question five (Q5): In your opinion, what are the key success factors in managing a diving operation in the area of Portofino? Referring to the fourth step of Creswell’s (2009) guidelines, the various factors that were mentioned by the owners were categorised and allocated to themes
Summary
Like many other forms of tourism, has witnessed unprecedented growth in competition from a supply side, which implies that more entrepreneurs are starting diving operations This is especially evident at the diving sites in the marine protected areas at Portofino in Italy where approximately 20 diving operators are active. In preventing the intense urban and tourism development, a terrestrial protected area was established in 1935, and in 1998 the national government created a marine protected area (Salmona and Verardi, 2001). This area is known to host tourists by providing RESEARCH PAPER. Saayman (2017) / European Journal of Tourism Research 17, pp. 163-175 activities such as recreational boating, scuba diving and snorkelling to name but a few, making this a highly competitive tourism environment
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