The role of marketing philosophy in rural tourism development

The purpose – The purpose of this paper is to research the role of marketing concept in the process of the sustainable rural tourism development. Design – The special focus is given to analysis of the factors that influence the implementation of marketing philosophy in tourism and its specifics in area of rural tourism. Methodology – Using available secondary and primary data from government bodies and relevant international organisations, several factors are identified that affect the implementation of marketing philosophy in area of rural tourism. Followed by qualitative analysis, these factors are analyses in details in order to provide the ideas for future development.The development of information technology, competition and growth in its global character, the new buyer and the need for sustainable development are just some of the factors that determine a new way of keeping the rural tourism business. Approach – Implementation of marketing philosophy in rural tourism is examined on the level of tourist destination, due to importance of cooperation and coordination on this macro level for the sustainable development of the rural tourism. Findings – Key findings indicate that marketing in rural tourism should be seen as a means to achieve development of strategic goals of rural tourist destinations, such as: long-term prosperity, guest satisfaction, profit maximization, extension of the tourist season, neutralizing the negative social impacts, stabilization of employment, support and further diversification of existing economic activity, temporal and spatial redistribution of tourist demand etc. Therefore, marketing cannot be understood simply as propaganda or simply as printing leaflets, but as a platform for defining business objectives and strategies, and creation of tourist products which deliver unique experience to consumers and generate profit for rural tourism destination. The originality of this research – The originality comes from the analysis of the specifics of marketing implementation in rural tourism

Clusters as a Factor of Rural Tourism Competitiveness: Montenegro Experiences

Background: The tourism cluster-approach is considered to be an appropriate strategy in emerging economies and less developed areas. Due to scarce resources and a great number of structural problems of rural areas in Montenegro, uniting all stakeholders and attractions into a competitive tourism cluster would ensure that the area could operate and become an effective and efficient rural tourism destination. Objectives: The objective of this paper is to highlight the key challenges of rural tourism clustering and provide new data and a wider understanding of the tourism-cluster approach in Montenegrin rural areas. Methods: Using the extensive literature, available secondary data from government bodies, NGOs, foreign development agencies, relevant international organisations and primary data collected from rural tourism operators in Montenegro, the paper investigates key challenges and factors associated with (in)efficiency of Montenegrin theme trails. Results: Several management and marketing issues are identified regarding the cluster approach implementation. Special importance and significance of information technologies and intelligent systems have been recognized in sense of cost-effective marketing implementation. Most Montenegrin trails are still in the first phase of cluster development, whereas just two of them have experienced a significant improvement in cooperative behaviour. Conclusions: Key benefits of the cluster approach are noted and clearly defined, but in the case of the Montenegrin rural tourism sector, these potentials are still, to a large extent, underused

Cultural Tourism and Community Engagement: Insight from Montenegro

Background: Cultural tourism in Montenegro is growing, mostly due to the integral growth and development of tourism products. However, an in-depth insight into the relationship between cultural tourism and community engagement is missing. Objectives: The paper aims to examine the relationship between cultural tourism development and community engagement in Montenegro. Methods/Approach: Using the extensive literature, available secondary data, and an analysis of relevant policies, the paper explores new possibilities for diversifying tourism offer at heritage sites, by engaging volunteers, enhancing understanding of the socio-historical background, promoting the usage of digital tools, partnering with relevant stakeholders, introducing innovative funding tools and schemes. Results: Several management issues associated with heritage tourism and community participation are acknowledged. Conclusions: Key findings indicate the need for a systemic, dynamic, and innovative framework for sustainable and highly impactful heritage tourism in Montenegro, which policymakers, heritage ventures, and other stakeholders might use to strengthen community engagement and development at the heritage sites

The Effect of Phases of the Adoption of the Circular Economy on Firm Performance: Evidence from 28 EU Countries

Although a substantial body of literature has analysed the potential benefits of the circular economy, empirical evidence on the relationship between circular economy-related activities and firm performance is scarce. Rather than analysing only the effect of the circular economy on firm performance, we empirically examine the effects of the different phases of the adoption process of the circular economy on firm performance. Therefore, in this paper, a multiphase framework of circular economy adoption is developed. Employing a propensity-score-matching model on the sample of more than 4000 European SMEs, we show that the adoption of circular economy activities improves firm performance as measured by productivity. In addition, our findings reveal that the impact of circular economy activities on firm performance is dependent on the different phases of the adoption process. Taken together, this study enriches current research on the circular economy by contributing to a more nuanced understanding on the relationship between the different phases of the adoption process and firm performance

The Role and Challenges of Rural Tourism Development in Transition Countries: Montenegro Experiences

Rural tourism is widely promoted as an efficient means of counteracting the social, economic and environmental challenges facing rural areas, primarily those associated with the decline of traditional agrarian industries. In line with this, the objective of this paper is to investigate the role and key challenges of rural tourism development in Montenegro as typical transitional economy. Using the extensive literature, available secondary and primary data collected from rural tourism operators, this paper throws light on the main components and issues about current situation in rural areas and rural tourism in Montenegro. Key findings indicate that three key factors of future success should be pulled out, as follows: support from government and international and/or national bodies/organizations, development of new and diversification of present tourist offers in rural areas and enhancement of government policy in the area of entrepreneurship and starting-up of new businesses in rural areas. Regarding practical implications, this paper provide the guidance and ideas for further rural and tourism development in Montenegro

WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE QUALITY SERVICE IMPROVEMENT IN MONTENEGRO: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

In this paper, using an Ordinary Least Square regression (OLS), we investigate whether intangible elements influence tourist's perception about service quality. Our empirical results based on tourist survey in Montenegro, indicate that intangible elements of tourism product have positive impact on tourist's overall perception of service quality in Montenegro

WHAT SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS DO INFLUENCE THE LEVEL OF TOURIST’S SATISFACTION IN MONTENEGRO? EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Montenegro as tourist destination is committed to providing a high quality experience for the tourists while carefully managing the use of a rare natural resource. In order to achieve the strategic objectives in sustainable tourism development in the future, the main focus should be given to the analysis of the main determinants of tourist satisfaction. Using a database that provides information on tourist travel behaviour and satisfaction during her/his stay in Montenegro, we have conducted empirical analysis to understand if the socio-demographic characteristics are associated with the level of tourist’s satisfaction. The effect of socio-demographic characteristics is measured through five dimensions: gender, age, country of residence, occupation and wage. Using multinomial logit model we analyze above mentioned socio-demographic characteristics and their influence on the level of tourist’s satisfaction in Montenegro

CAN QUALITY STANDARDS INDIRECTLY IMPROVE EMPLOYEE'S WAGE: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCES FROM MONTENEGRO

In this paper we investigate the indirect effect of ISO 9000 adoption on employees' wage. Actually, the adoption of quality standards induces firm's re-organization, underlying improvement of work environment and employees' involvement. Therefore, in this paper, we analyze how work environment and employees' involvement are associated with employees' wage. Our empirical results based on Montenegrin employee database from two quality certified firms indicate that better work environment has no influence on employees' wage while employee involvement is positively associated with higher wages

What drives tourist satisfaction in Montenegro: the role of tangible and intangible elements

Providing high quality experience for the tourists is seen as a key strategic objective in contemporary tourism development. In fact, the quality of experience has been considered as a tool for increasing destination competitiveness. Montenegro as tourist destination is committed to achieving tourists' satisfaction where main focus should be given to the analysis of the key determinants of tourist satisfaction. Tourism products and sendees need to match tourists' expectations, in order to achieve their satisfaction. However, it is not enough to analyze his/her satisfaction, measured on an ordinal scale (very satisfied, satisfied, not satisfied), but to analyze the factors and their interrelationships in the process of the tourist satisfaction for a better understanding of the consumer psychology, as well. Given the importance of tangible and intangible elements of tourism product, the objective of our paper is to empirically examine whether tangible and intangible elements of Montenegrin tourism product influence differently tourist satisfaction. In doing so, we use data from the Montenegrin survey called Guest Survey 2010. The main objective of the survey is to obtain representative view regarding tourist travel behavior and satisfaction during their stay in Montenegro. Working on sample of 740 tourists, our results reveal that both tangible and intangible elements improve tourist satisfaction