Innovation strategies essay

Innovativeness is one of the main factors of competitiveness in tourism and hospitality industry, and therefore plays an important role. (Gustafsson 2003) It is possible to say that innovativeness in the hospitality industry directly affects the success and profitability of business. Tourist business in many cases is initiated by innovators, who develop and implement advanced technology, continuously change forms and methods of supply of products and services, open and develop new opportunities. But the scope of innovations in tourism depends on many factors, such as the economic situation in the country, social status of the population, national legislation, as well as intergovernmental and international agreements. Therefore, the motives and causes of innovation in tourism activities in each country are different. However, any country can be characterized with:

– growing needs of people in travelling, learning new places and getting new experiences;

– decreasing interest to many classical and traditional travel destinations (destinations);

– increased competition, the growth of the proposals of standardized global products;

– growing demands of travelers, who now need comfortable travel conditions, new interesting destinations and leisure facilities;

– technological revolution and extensive use of new technologies in the hospitality industry. (Peters M., 2006)

So, due to the constant development of economy and technology, the demands of tourists to the hotels are growing as well. Daniela de Klumbis (2005) in the article “Seeking the ultimate hotel experience” claims that modern hotels nowadays offer not only a place to sleep, but also provide important experiences to people. People do not need nice, clean and comfortable room, now they want new experiences, funky entertainment, and everything of the highest quality – the “ultimate guest experience”.  (de Klumbis 2005)

The author gives a special pyramid of guests’ needs:  basic amenities include bed and shower; elevated amenities include service and design, and the highest level is “Reward Identity Refreshment”. Then de Klumbis considers “guests evolution” as one of the factors that lead to development of the hospitality industry. The author describes modern travelers:

-   are well informed about different products;

-   are more discerning;

-   have more choice, they have less time to choose;

-   are more experienced and more educated;

-   more destination-oriented;

-   more independent

-   more flexible

-   more environmentally conscious.

These all are the differences between the “old” and “new” consumers. For these new generation of travelers, called “generation X” or baby-boomers, the most important are image, entertainment, uniqueness and the hip factor. And due to these characteristics hotels should build their products and services.