Slovak winter tourism festinations: future playground for tourists in the Carpathians

• Published in: Tourism and hospitality management Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 161 - 178
• Main Authors: Gajdošíková, Zuzana, Gajdošík, Tomáš, Kučerová, Jana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sveučilište u Rijeci, Fakultet za menadžment u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu, Opatija 23.05.2019; Faculty of tourism and hospitality management
• Subjects: competitiveness; mountain tourism; ski market; Slovakia
• ISSN: 1330-7533; 1847-3377
• DOI: 10.20867/thm.25.1.7

Purpose – Traditional winter tourism destinations in the Alps are facing the transfers of skiers to other destinations, so the western skier market is flattening. Due to the geographical position, the changes in the ski market, and current investments, Slovak winter tourism destinations are in front of challenging task to attract more foreign tourists. Design –This paper is focused on the analysis of competitiveness of Slovak winter tourism destinations, and it tries to identify the market position of these destinations. Methodology – The comparative advantages, analysed by the factor analysis, are enriched by the competitive advantages analysis based on the level of destination management and price/ quality ratio and sustainability issues. Approach – The paper adopts the combination of subjective and objective measures to analyse the competitiveness of Slovak winter tourism destinations. Findings –Slovakia has the ability to be the future playground for tourists in the Carpathians. In that case, winter tourism destinations will take into account the climate changes, sustainability issues, and will be focused on the whole year-round products. Originality of the research – The article presents the under-researched area of the Carpathians and uses the combination of subjective and objective measures to access the competitiveness.