(TIỂU LUẬN) final assessment written group report declaration and statement of authorship

           ECON1318- Economics for Tourism and Hospitality Final Assessment - Written Group Report Subject Code ECON1318 Economics for Tourism and Subject Name Hospitality Country Slovakia Group members-StudentID Han Tu Nghi - s3752942 Chen Shu-Ying - s3765203 Nguyen Phu Hoang Minh - s3752871 Tran Nhat Minh - s3747830 Tran An Binh - s3756186 Word count 2681 words     1   Declaration and Statement of Authorship: I/We hold a photocopy of this assignment which can be produced if the original is lost/damaged This assignment is my/our original work and no part of it has been copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgment is made No part of this assignment has been written for me/us by any other person except where such collaboration has been authorized by the academic/teacher concerned and as detailed in the assignment I/we have not previously submitted this work for any other course/unit I give permission for my assignment to be scanned for electronic checking of plagiarism I give permission for a copy of my/our marked work to be retained by the Department for review by external examiners I/We understand that Plagiarism is the presentation of the work, idea or creation of another person as though it is one’s own It is a form of cheating and is a very serious academic offense which may lead to expulsion from the University Plagiarized material can be drawn from, and presented in, written, graphic and visual form, including electronic data, and oral presentations Plagiarism occurs when the origin of the material used is not appropriately cited Enabling Plagiarism is the act of assisting or allowing another person to plagiarize or to copy one’s work; this is not acceptable and is also subject to penalty   2   TABLE OF CONTENT I Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………… II Key growth drivers for tourism People…………………………………………………………………………………… Place…………………………………………………………………………………… Price……………………………………………………………………………………….8 Process………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Policy making……………………………………………………………………………11 Promotion……………………………………………………………………………… 12 III Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………… 15 IV References…………………………………………………………… ………………… 15 3   I Introduction Slovakia, officially known as the Slovak Republic, is located in the center of Eastern Europe, bordered by the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, and Austria Slovakia was once part of communist Czechoslovakia until it gained its independence in 1993 After joining the European Union in 2004, Slovakia enjoyed rapid economic development in every sector and its tourism industry is no exception This report aims to discuss more different aspects of Slovakia tourism, consisting of people, place, price, process, policy, and promotion This report will also examine the development of Slovakia tourism industry since the start of the 21st Century II Key growth drivers for tourism People Figure 1: Number of tourists in Slovakia For the internal arrival sector, according to Statista (2019), during the ten years, Slovakia witnessed a modest increase of nearly 1,5 million in the number of internal tourists, from 4.03 million in 2008 to 5.49 in 2018 In 2009, Slovakia tourism arrival suddenly dropped by 0,69 4   million compared to 2008 However, they gradually rose back until 2013, reaching million tourists However, it seemed that they plummeted again in the next year to almost the same level as it was in 2012, followed annually steady increase, resulting in 4,27 million in 2015 and 4,94 million in 2016 The outstanding feature over the past ten years is the highest growth of 0.35 million resulting in a record-breaking number of 3,2 million tourists in 2017 Among the countries, the Czech Republic was recognized as the most potential market as it made up a major number of 645,000 tourists, followed by the North Pole, Germany, Hungary, and Australia Furthermore, China also was featured as the number of Chinese visitors was two times higher than the previous year (Xinhua, 2018) In 2018, the number of visitors to Slovakia increased by 4,1%, reaching 5,5 million, of which 3.3 were domestic travelers (Observator, 2019) In comparison with 2017, the domestic category and international one both 100,000 visitors higher Regarding outbound tourism, the number of outbound trips measured in thousand is significantly lower than inbound overall The trend of outbound tourism was as similar as of internal tourism, there was a drop in 2013, followed by an annual increase, reaching 4600 thousand of tourists in 2018 (Jennifer, 2019) However, oversea trips of the Slovaks are still predominant in the profit of travel agencies and tour operators as trips in Slovakia organized by tour operators and travel companies have been reported with a declining trend (Marek, 2012) 5   Figure 2: Number of departures in Slovakia In conclusion, based on the trend in the last decade, it can be forecasted that Slovakia’s inbound tourism will continue largely depend on domestic visitors, and welcome an increasing number of global visitors, especially Czechs and Chinese At the same time, more and more Slovaks will travel abroad, especially to European countries Place Slovakia is a landlocked country located in the Eastern European area and has a rather significant location, near the center of Europe, Slovakia has a total landmass of 48,105 km2 with a total of 930km2 bodies of water It borders with Hungary, with which it has the longest border at 679 km, with the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and Ukraine, with which the shortest borderline at 98 km (Monika 2018) Slovakia has a rather unique position in the region of Eastern/Central Europe, Slovak territory is crossed by three of the nine European core network corridors, with the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor being one of the most important ones for the development of transport infrastructure of the Slovak Republic (Marek et al 2018) Although the transport infrastructure in Slovakia is 6   unevenly distributed and many of the railways, motorway network suffer from deficiencies, the government has invested around 20 million EUR to upgrade motorway infrastructure, electrify the railway system and sold off outdated facility and equipment like railway tracks (OECD 2019) Slovakia is endowed with tourist attraction, they also have a diverse tourism attraction that can offer various activities for tourists coming into the country, Slovakia has over 12,000km2 of protected area, divided into 14 protected landscape area that can serve for sustainable tourism purposes, including national parks, moreover, the country is also known for its caves system, there is over 1,200 caves are discovered and registered caves in Slovakia, of which 12 are open to the public Between the most important caves are: cave Driny, Harmanecká cave, Bystrianska cave, Demänovská cave of liberty (Monika, 2018) and more than 1,300 mineral and hot spring waters, thanks for their effectiveness, around 23 spas have built around mineral and hot spring waters, overall increase the effectiveness of the tourism product in these areas (OECD, 2016) Slovakia also offers rich cultural heritage aligned with the diverse natural attractions, there are numerous historical sites such as castles (The Bratislava Castle, Devin Castle, Nitra Castle, Bojnice Castle, ) Churches and Cathedrals (The Blue Church of St.Elizabeth, St.Martin Cathedral, ) and over 300 smaller wooden churches with their unique structure have survived to represent their religious architecture, even the old town of Bratislava is a cultural heritage itself The diversity of tourist attractions in Slovakia also represents through over 70 museums, 19 galleries of all types, including other exposures commemorative rooms, open-air museums and more than 100 expositions for tourists to discover Up to now, there have been sites in Slovakia recognized by UNESCO, including Vlkolínec, Levoča, Banská Štiavnica Towns and Slovak Karst Cave system (Anton K & Daniel G 2012) 7   Price 3.1 Pricing of tourism products ● Accommodations Compared with the common ground in European countries, the price of accommodation in Slovakia is much lower (Foster, 2019) According to Leffel, camping at the national park only takes $8 one person with a tent If a tourist wants to stay at a hostel in Bratislava, they will need to spend $17 – $25 per person per night For to 4-star hotels, the price must be around $26 – $70 for a double room Regardings luxury hotels, as mentioned by The Slovak Spectator, the price payable for the most expensive hotels and in Slovakia are at half the price in some other European countries such as Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark (The Slovak Spectator, 2018) ● Restaurants Similar to accommodations, prices of restaurants might also present as a salient feature in the Slovakia tourism industry as several bottles of beer or even a three-course lunch might merely cost €5 (Foster, 2019) To be specific, “soups are commonly $1 to $2.50, main dishes are $1.50 to $6” (Leffel, 2012) For travelers staying at a type of accommodation where there is a kitchen, self-cooking will help to cut back on spending ● Transportation Notably, Slovakia does offer travelers a wide range of transportation Figures below have clearly demonstrated the prices of public transport tickets based on different validity Additionally, tourists can also travel around the city by taxi, which might cost roughly $1.30/kilometer (Leffel, 2012) Moreover, for those who travel in a group, renting a car will be more economical since the rental fee in Slovakia is only $17/day for a 5-seater car (Kayak, n.d) 8   Figure 3: Slovakia’s public transport price list (MHD, 2018) 3.2 Taxation Recently, the Slovakia parliament has introduced a new VAT policy on hotels and similar accommodations sector This policy which was first implemented on January 1st of 2019 means to reduce the tax rate from 20% to 10% in some industries, including the hotel industry (United Cash Back, n.d) According to The Slovak Spectator, the main cause of the VAT reduction is owing to signs of stagnation in Slovakia tourism industry; thus, the government must take action to trigger the demand of tourists Furthermore, the general manager of AHRS confirmed "continuous growing costs and pressure of visitors on quality of services" (The Slovak Spectator, 2018) is an additional reason On another aspect, VAT lowering can make service providers increase savings (United Cash Back, n.d) 9   3.3 Market structure Generally, most travel-related sectors in Slovakia encompass accommodations, restaurants, and travel agents establish based on monopolistic competition market structure since these businesses are subject to severe competition Specifically, the F&B sector has recently witnessed significant growth (Euromonitor International, 2019) and roughly 13000 hotel rooms will be opened in the next years (Gurova, 2018) Simultaneously, this expansion also prove that there are no barriers to enter the market Moreover, product differentiation does exist when hotels usually cater to customers different service quality and facilities (Goni, n.d); otherwise, restaurants distinguish themselves by the taste of food or the variety of menu Furthermore, based on the quality of services that the business offers, they will set the price slightly lower or higher than the floor price Hence, it could be concluded that these businesses have little control over price Process The Slovak Parliament authorized an adjustment in October of 2011 regarding the Act on Support of Tourism in purpose to accelerate the creation and performance also the development of local and regional Slovakia’s tourism sector (Štefko et al 2018) Slovakia’s ministries and authorities have established the initial competition in 2014 to encourage tourism innovation and promote positive change in tourism development with the participation of 12 Slovak entrepreneurs (Gržinić 2018) Specifically, in 2014, the Ministry allocating EUR 3.7 million to 33 tourism organizations, whereas 29 locals and regionals, for hospitality product development, commercial campaigns, building, and tourist infrastructure preservation fee Furthermore, it is obvious that networking applications would enhance further innovations in accordance to tourist destinations They were linked predominantly with executing information technologies in the two most significant mountainous destinations in Slovakia: The High Tatras and The Liptov Attributable to the major stakeholders’ networking, a diversity of hospitality product and marketing innovations have been inaugurated in the High Tatras and in Liptov in 2016 by tourism stakeholders (Gajdošík et al.2017 ) Notably, these innovations initiators are 10   DMO the company TMR, Inc., or the Liptov Cluster in both destinations, moreover, these innovations were focused on the product, price, promotion, and distribution Toward High Tatras’s case, the stakeholders cooperate, especially in accommodation facilities and publishment of the destination visitor’s card Tatras Card Winter and Tatras Card Summer, which justification is to offer travelers discounts in sports and recreational activities and catering, also free transportation(an aqua ski-bus) This is also available in the Go Pass card, which is a loyalty program of a private stakeholder (TMR, Inc.), it also acts as a destination visitor’s card Regarding Liptov, Stakeholders published the product liptov Card Winter and liptov CardSummer, therefore, customers can take advantage in the available discount on major attractions in the region Also, a fascinating hospitality product of the summer season called Seven Treasures of liptov, which uses the component of geocaching and inspired visitors to get to acknowledge the whole region of liptov Both DMOs now play a vital role in networking based on marketing communication and product development Their yearly financial plan surpasses €1.5m and Slovakia governors target their economic development in destination attractions (Gajdošík et al 2017.) The liptov region has welcomed approximately half a million tourists in 2016 and experienced an increase of 13% in 2017 Policy Because the European Union does not have a common policy focusing on tourism, so its Member States have various policies on the sector, those policies reflected the contribution, weight, and position of tourism to the country’s economy Therefore, there is no single guide on the tourism development policy established by the EU that can be applied to a specific country The majority of regulations and standards enacted by the Council of European Union involving tourism are concerned with the protection of the consumers and natural habitat (Monika 2018) In 2002 the Slovakia government implemented Act No.49/2002 (which later amended by Act no.479/2005 Coll.), which aims to protect the cultural monuments of the country from 11   vandalism, over-tourism in order to preserve the cultural heritage of the Slovak people The consequence of this law changed the heritage authorities’ competences, which had traditionally performed the role of state agencies’ advisory bodies Conservation authorities have broad powers, but they have not been allowed to determine the fate of cultural monuments The law also results in the establishment of a new government organization - Monuments Board of Slovak Republic, that has legal jurisdiction to determine the Slovak fate of cultural heritages and became a part of specialized state administration The new Tourism Regionalization Policy in Slovakia was announced in 2003 with the aim of defining the boundaries of tourism regions in accordance with Slovakia's new administrative division and formulating priority forms of tourism development in particular regions and sub-regions (Jana K & Tomáš M 2009) Therefore, each region has specific policies, strategies, regulations according to each region’s socio-economic level of development One main challenge of this policy is the regional problems of tourism development on a regional level have been up to now solved mainly by means of physical and territorial planning (Jana K & Tomáš M 2009) Promotion Slovakia is not known for being a tourism-focused country in Eastern Europe, however, domestic tourism is one of the country’s main economic drivers But since 1989, Slovakia opened its door to welcome tourists from around the world (Palko 2012) Led by the Department of Marketing and Promotion, tourism marketing in Slovakia is divided into 35 local organizations for the promotion of a specific region in Slovakia (OECD 2018) Since the beginning of the 2010s, Slovakia has worked continuously to promote its domestic tourism Slovakia media typically promote tourism from the start of summer to middle winter, the festival period in Slovakia, to gain the most of worldwide attention This period coincides with the holiday breaks of most European countries, making it an ideal time for Slovakia to 12   promote its destinations The most notable marketing campaign is the “Travel in Slovakia Good Idea” in 2017, which rebranded Slovakia tourism industry as a whole Funded by the European Union, the campaign originated from the official logo “Good Idea Slovakia” in 2016, and was developed to represent Slovakia in the international tourism market (Krizanova et al 2019) It gave Slovakia a more attractive image, focusing on Slovakia’s most famous attractions as well as other less famous sites Moreover, the campaign adapted Slovakia tourism industry to an international approach, making Slovakia more appealing to foreign tourists, particularly Western European tourists (n a n d) Currently, the campaign is the main marketing organization for Slovakia tourism Another marketing campaign worth mentioning is the “ Discover Central Europe” initiative, a collaborative effort between countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia All countries have similar cultural and historical heritage, but each country is unique at the same time Utilizing this advantage, the project was created as an example of the effort to develop the area of Central Europe within the broader context of Europe-wide integration (n a n d) With the aim of reaching the mutual benefits of ensuring long-term success in areas of common interest by ongoing internal collaboration, the project has successfully increased the revenue of the Slovakia tourism industry since 2012 (DCE 2017) 13   Figure 4: Slovakia tourism statistic after joining DCE Despite having major developments in tourism promotion, Slovakia is still insufficient in utilizing technology into its marketing campaigns According to Malachovský & Kiráľová (2015), the use of e-communication tools is lacking in many Slovakia attractions, mainly rely on 14   social media as the main form of marketing Furthermore, Slovakia tourism industry is largely dependent on booming economy trends, so marketing strategies at a regional level are needed if Slovakia wishes to develop the tourism industry more (Ferencová et al 2014) Conclusion Since Slovakia owns many fascinating natural landscapes, castles, chateaux and its tasty local cuisine, it is no doubt that Slovakia attracts a considerable number of tourists Unfortunately, Slovakia is currently fallen behind other countries, principally in system solving problems Therefore, cooperate with institution, professionalism employee and well-behaved manner, also service’s quality as customer care system, in purpose to approach further innovation and in-depth education Moreover, Slovakia tourism and hospitality authorities have to take into account product marketing and communication development strategy in the purpose of attracting more visitors and reach the financial target as well Besides, the Slovak Republic acknowledges the benefits of social tourism, also the governors and local authorities have done a great job in allocating funds from social tourism to help the community IV References Anton, K & Daniel, G 2017, ‘Spa and Wellness Tourism in Slovakia (A Geographical Analysis)’, Czech Journal of Tourism, vol 6, no 1, pp 27-53 CEIC 2018, “Slovakia Tourism Statistics”, CEIC, 19 April, viewed January 2020. Cushman & Wakefield 2018, BRATISLAVA RANKED 25TH AMONG EUROPEAN MARKETS WITH THE HIGHEST OCCUPANCY THE PRICES IN HOTELS ARE RISING, Cushman & Wakefield , viewed on Jan 2020. 15   DCE 2017, Discover Central Europe 2016 Facts & Figures, CzechTourism, Prague. DCE 2017, Discover Central Europe 2016 Facts & Figures, CzechTourism, Prague, Environment’, Sustainability, vol 11, no 24, viewed 10th January 2020, <  Erik, R 2017, Tourism in Slovakia, Spectator, viewed January Euromonitor International, 2019, “F  ull-Service Restaurants in Slovakia”, Market Research, April, viewed January 2020 European Commission n.d ,Bratislava Region, European Commission, viewed on Jan 2020. Ferencová, M, Misencíková, V & Kot, S 2014, ‘AN ANALYTICAL VIEW OF USING E-COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN PROMOTING OF SELECTED PILGRIM TOURISM SITES IN SLOVAK REPUBLIC’, Journal of Environmental Management & Tourism, vol 5, no 2, pp 223 - 229 16   Foster, J, 2019, “The 17 Cheapest Places to Travel in Europe in 2019”, Travelocity, 26 April, viewed 25 December 2019. Gajdošík, T, Gajdošíková, Z, Maráková, V & Borseková, K 2017, ‘Innovations and networking fostering tourist destination development in Slovakia’, Quaestiones Geographicae , vol.36, no 4 , pp.103-115 Goni, G, n.d, “Hotel Branding: Questions to Ask Yourself to Truly Differentiate Your Hotel”, EHL, viewed January 2020 Gržinić259, J 2018, ‘OECD MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGES FOR CROATIAN TOURISM; SUSTAINABLE PERSPECTIVES’, ERAZ2018, p.560 Gurova, Z, 2018, “Bratislava Ranked 25th Among European Markets With The Highest Occupancy The Prices In Hotels Are Rising”, Cushman & Wakefield, 26 September, viewed January 2020. Jana, K, & Tomáš, M 2009, ‘REGIONAL TOURISM POLICY IN SLOVAKIA’, Faculty of Economics, Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Matej Bel University, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia Jane n.d, Tourist Visitors to Bratislava, Slovakia, SCALAR, viewed on 2nd January 2020. Kayak, n.d, “Slovakia Car Rental”, Kayak, viewed 29 December 2019. Krizanova, A, Lăzăroiu , G, Gajanova , L, Kliestikova , J, Nadanyiova, M & Moravcikova , D 2019, ‘The Effectiveness of Marketing Communication and Importance of Its Evaluation in an 17   Online Environment’, Sustainability , vol 11, no 24, viewed 10th January 2020. Leffel, T, 2012, “Slovakia: One of Europe’s Cheapest Destinations”, Go Nomad, 15 May, viewed 27 December 2019. Luty, J 2019, “Number of arrivals in tourist accommodations in Slovakia from 2016 to 2018”, Statista, 21 October, viewed January, 2020 Malachovský, A & Kiráľová, A 2015, ‘Invigorating the Destination's Marketing Strategy? (The Case of Slovakia)’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol 175, no 1, pp 393 - 400, viewed 10th January 2020, ScienceDirect Elsevier Online Database Marek, W, Daniel, M, Maria, B, Bronislav, C, Vladimir, I, Tomasz, K, Piotr, R, Marcin, S, Vladimir, S, Przemysław, Ś, Dariusz, Ś & Rafał, W 2012, Polish-Slovak Borderland: Transport Accessibility and Tourism,  Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland MHD, 2018, “Ticket Price List”, Imhd.sk, October, viewed 28 December 2019 Monika, S 2018, ‘Tourism in Slovakia, especially in Small Carpathians’, Challenges of the Future, vol 1, pp 54-69 N a n d, About Discovery Central Europe’, Discover Central Europe, viewed 10th January 2020, 18   N.a n d, ‘About Slovakia’, Slovakia, viewed 10th January 2020, Obserwator 2019, “Tourist visits grow by 4.1% in Slovakia”, Central European Financial Observer, viewed January 2020 OECD 2016, “Slovak Republic”, in OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2016, OECD Publishing, Paris OECD 2018, OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2018, 1st edn, OECD Publishing, Paris OECD 2019, OECD Economic Surveys: Slovak Republic 2019, OECD Publishing, Paris Palko, F 2012, ‘Successful Tourism in Slovakia – Challenge, but an Achievable Goal’, AmCham , viewed 10th January 2020. Palko, F 2012, ‘Successful Tourism in Slovakia – Challenge, but an Achievable Goal’, AmCham, viewed 10th January 2020, Schmid, D 2019, “Number of outbound overnight trips from Slovakia from 2012 to 2018”, 14 October, viewed January 2020 Štefko, R, Vašaničová, P, Litavcová, E &Jenčová, S 2018, ‘Tourism Intensity in the NUTS III Regions of Slovakia’, Journal of Tourism and Services , vol.9, no.16, pp.45-59 The Slovak Spectator, 2018, “Slovakia is the seventh cheapest country in the EU”, The Slovak Spectator, 24 July, viewed 27 December 2019. 19   The Slovak Spectator, 2018, “Vouchers and lower VAT on accommodation to boost tourism”, The Slovak Spectator, 23 October, viewed 29 December 2019 Travel Slovakia n.d, TripAdvisor tourists liked Spiš Castle the most, Travel Slovakia, viewed on Jan 2020. UNESCO n.d, Slovakia Natural Heritages, UNESCO, viewed on Jan 2020. United Cash Back, n.d, “VAT Pulse”, United Cash Back, viewed 29 December 2019. Xinhua 2018, “Slovakia registers record number of tourists in 2017”, China-Europe, 28 May, viewed January 2020 20 ...  Declaration and Statement of Authorship: I/We hold a photocopy of this assignment which can be produced if the original is lost/damaged This assignment is my/our original work and no part of. .. sector and its tourism industry is no exception This report aims to discuss more different aspects of Slovakia tourism, consisting of people, place, price, process, policy, and promotion This report. .. increase, reaching 4600 thousand of tourists in 2018 (Jennifer, 2019) However, oversea trips of the Slovaks are still predominant in the profit of travel agencies and tour operators as trips in