Mission and objectives of tourism development in Slovakia

Based on the strategic analysis, it is possible to formulate a strategy of tourism development in Slovakia. Correct identification of the mission and objectives that tourism must fulfill on behalf of social and economic development is of utmost importance here. Any analysis is merely a connecting tool that mediates the

ac-complishment of set objectives. The main development strategy is then provided by means of partial strategies as components of tourism policy.

Strategy might be an outcome of a rational planning procedure managed from superior structures or it might be initiated by subsidiary structures – from the in-sight of the tourism system, without a formal plan set in advance. Both approaches are difficult to be implemented in Slovak conditions. On the one hand, there is an absence of a superior authority responsible for the implementation of strategic management that would be linked to a well-functioning institutional structure with an adequate financing system. On the other hand, a low level of internal consolida-tion in the tourism sector is an obstacle for the strategy to come into existence as an the impulse of tourism regions and resorts. The initiative will in a considerable way come out from the local and regional level. These are – in relation to the state – opinion leaders of all subjects interested in tourism development.

a) Tourism mission

To outline the mission of tourism in Slovakia means to intermediate the essence of the sector functioning. The mission is the formulation of a fundamental tourism sector philosophy in Slovakia that will be in the long-term accepted by entrepre-neurs, regions, municipalities and tourism employees with decision competencies in tourism. The situation so far points out the fact that the absence of the mis-sion, objectives and strategy results in a considerable disorientation of tourism entrepreneurs. At the same time, the chance to effectively influence other tourism stakeholders loses importance. A mission without objectives and the following strategies carried out in practice has no particular impact on tourism activities.

Regarding the theory of strategic management, it is possible to define tourism mission on three levels – state, regions and companies. The content of the mission on national level must be general, though encompassing its essential. Above all, it must intermediate the meaning of effort for all subordinate levels. On the regional level, it is more intensely concentrated on a particular product and visitor. In a tour-ism company, the mission must fulfil the expectations of a particular target group of customers.

There are different mission forms in practice. It may be a sentence express-ing the meanexpress-ing of effort, in some cases the mission may consequently approach a marketing motto.

As an example, after the Second World War, the Ministry of Economy of Austria published a document aimed at the enforcement of tourism development titled “An Appeal Towards Austrian People”. It was published in print media, on announce-ment panels and on leaflets distributed in every tourism resort. Fifty years later, a simple motto modified in different languages is sufficient “Servus in Österreich”.

The emphasis is put on the mission statement at every opportunity and in different

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promotional materials. Herewith, the style, font colour and background material are preserved. These examples demonstrate possible ways of handling the mission formation. Wider and narrower mission determinations are there to be distin-guished. A wider mission determination is aimed at professional public, thus, it has a smaller group of recipients. A narrower mission determination is aimed at a wider audience and is in a way a sign of maturity and high level of tourism develop-ment. At this point, it is assumed that all the interested stakeholders comprehend the inevitability of tourism development. Consequently, it is essential to create a simple and striking motto that is also understandable for visitors.

Despite its dominant position in relation to strategy, tourism mission formation is a short term matter at all levels. The mission should rather focused on the markets than on products, it should be attainable, motivating and specific. A focus on the markets in tourism represents an ability to maximize the satisfaction of visitors’ needs. The attainability of a tourism mission is perceived as an ability to make the set objective real. If the mission is set unrealistically, it may lead to frustration caused by the in-ability to achieve resolutions and loss of enthusiasm. Motivation follows attainin-ability.

It is a difficult issue in tourism due to its sectional character. Therefore, the effort of the ministry (national tourism office or government section for tourism in case of their establishment) to consistently enforce this mission and make people identify with it must be evident. The specific character of the mission reflects its uniqueness.

Based on the provided information, it is possible to formulate the following mission for tourism development in Slovakia at the national level: “Sustainable tourism development in Slovakia is considered a stabilizer of its position in the structure of the national economy and it creates preconditions for its effective and long-term development as a factor of economic and socio-cultural development of the society. A criterion of tourism development is the optimal satisfaction of target groups’ needs provided by offering a differentiated product in conditions of effective assessment of natural and cultural potential of Slovakia, labour and capital”.

A mission formulated like this is intended for professional public, thus it is its wider determination. When designing the mission, we have derived from the cur-rent level of tourism development in Slovakia and from the presumption that it is essential to achieve agreement within the professional public first and only then it is recommended to start a campaign focused on wider audience including tourism workers and inhabitants.

Taking into consideration the current state of the tourism institutional structure in Slovakia, it is inevitable to offensively enforce the mission, objectives and strategy in practice. The basic principle of strategic management implementation in tourism should not be onvaded; therefore, the institutional structure should be adjusted to the strategy and not vice versa. The presented facts advocate the need to formulate the mission and at the same time they advocate the necessity to finalize its institutional structure.

b) Objectives of the tourism development

The role of the objectives is to fulfill the mission of tourism development in the society. Simultaneously, they are the pillars for the strategy creation. Strategic ob-jectives are formed for different time periods, usually from one to five years. One-year objectives are considered short term, three-One-year objectives are middle-term and five-year objectives are long-term. The formation of the objectives intended for a longer period than five years is considered unrealistic due to rapid changes of external environment.

The objective is understood as a desired state that is supposed to be achieved in future and is measurable via appropriate qualitative or quantitative indicators and documented by its term fulfillment. Objectives initiate deeds and specify outcomes that are expected by the mission accomplishment. Objectives are determined for ar-eas, which influence performance and prosperity of the tourism sector. Most of all, they designate the market position, innovation need, sector productivity, material and financial resources, sector performance, sphere of responsibility, relationship towards employees and social responsibility.

The objectives of the tourism strategy in Slovakia derive from the assessment of strengths and weaknesses in the domestic and international tourism market. It is anticipated to fulfill the following objectives of the strategy (within 5 years):

to revive a dynamic growth of foreign exchange income from foreign tourism a) (on average in 10% every year, which corresponds with the worldwide trend and

enables Slovakia to maintain its share in the international tourism market), to increased the number of foreign tourists (guests that stay at least one b) overnight) in 5% annually;

to increase the share of Slovakia in the European market and attain new c) target markets that exist in neighbouring countries;

to increase the participation of middle and socially disadvantaged groups of d) society in domestic tourism;

to enhance service quality and destinations’ quality;

e) creation of better image in tourism and branding.

f)

Strategic objectives relate to each other and condition each other. It is inevitable to formulate several partial objectives in middle-term and short-term horizon in order to fulfill them successfully.

Middle-term and short-term objectives can be organized into a comprehensive scheme. It is necessary to secure fulfillment of middle-term objectives within a time period of up to three years and short-term objectives up to one year.

The fulfillment of middle-term objectives is conditioned by the formulation of short-term objectives. Short-term objectives relate together and an accomplishment of a short-term objective influences several middle-term objectives. Short-term

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objectives have a measure-like character. The time period of their fulfilment is short, thus it is necessary to accomplish them almost simultaneously. An overview of the set mid-term and short-term objectives is provided in Table 1.

Tab. 1. Middle-term and short-term objectives of tourism strategy in Slovakia

Source: own processing Middle-term objectives

(up to three years) Short-term objectives (up to one or two years) offer of a differentiated and

––

competitive product, increase of its quality for target groups of foreign and domestic visitors,

support of complex tourism ––

products’ compilation provided by tourism associations in the destinations,

gradual change from transit and ––

one-day tourism to short-term and long-term tourism,

systematic creation of the Slovak ––

image as a tourism destination in existing and new markets, offensive marketing support of ––

domestic tourism participation, gradual acceptance of individual ––

legal acts that govern development and business activities in tourism, creation of national tourism ––

information system and its connection to global information systems and reservation systems, as well as Internet including destination management and marketing support on own web pages of travel destinations,

stimulation of inbound tourism ––

organized by tour operators, support of cross-border cooperation ––

in the compilation of regional tourism product.

completeness of additional facilities in tourism destinations ––

intended to create a differentiated collective tourism product, coordination of marketing activities in Slovakia and abroad ––

provided by the Slovak Tourist Board as a partner of tourism subjects in Slovakia,

gradual transfer from global promotion of Slovakia as ––

a destination to differentiated promotion that takes into consideration specific needs of target groups,

enforcement of domestic tourism promotion and support in ––

electronic and mass media,

intensification of educating population towards tourism ––

development and lifelong learning of tourism employees, organizing and stimulating competitions in environmental ––

protection provided by tourism destinations and border crossings,

support of production and distribution of authentic souvenirs ––

and travel literature, postcards with travel motives and official logo of Slovakia,

providing financial contribution to participate in domestic ––

tourism from the side of employers and their tax preference, affording soft loan on domestic holidays purchase and support ––

of social tourism,

marketing activity focused on examination of existing and ––

potential foreign target markets,

establishment of new detached offices of the Slovak Tourist ––

Board in source countries that Slovakia is expected to receive the most visitors from,

pursuing and influencing quality of tourism services, even with ––

an assistance of branch associations, Slovak Trade Inspection, Association for Consumer Protection and Quality Mark Presenting,

increasing tourists’ safety on the territory of the Slovak ––

republic,

stricter requirements concerning professional preconditions ––

ensuring license granting for the operation of tour operators, coordination of tourism development activities provided by ––

government bodies with an objective to apply unified tourism policy on the market,

lottery creation in favour of tourism development with ––

financial and non-financial prices in favour of domestic tourism development.

Strategic objectives relate together and condition each other. It is inevitable to formulate several partial objectives in middle-term and short-term horizon in order to fulfill them successfully.

Middle-term and short-term objectives can be organized into a comprehensive scheme. It is necessary to secure fulfillment of middle-term objectives within a time period of up to three years and short-term objectives up to one year.

The fulfillment of middle-term objectives is conditioned by the formulation of short-term objectives. Short-term objectives relate together and an accomplishment of a short-term objective influences several middle-term objectives. Short-term objectives have a measure-like character. The time period of their fulfillment is short, thus it is necessary to accomplish them almost simultaneously. An overview of the set middle-term and short-term objectives is provided in Table 3.