INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN REGIONAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES Zbigniew Zontek Univerity of Bielsko-Biala, Poland

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN REGIONAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES The core of the innovation is putting the novelty into a practice, which comes down to the offering of a new product or service on the market. Or, in relation to a new process, organization or marketing methods, to their usage in the current activity of a business. (Oslo Manual) Innovation can be analysed from two points of view: narrow - Innovation strictly refers to a deep change in production methods and products, based on new, unused knowledge, and/or the first trade introduction (application) of a new product, service, process or equipment broad (sensu largo), corresponds to change in an organization's activity, and that means the assimilation of existed knowledge (diffusion of innovation)

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN REGIONAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES There are several main types of innovation in tourism: product innovations - result is the rise of innovative products (tourism services), managerial and procedural innovations, improving of the processes of tourism services, new models of management in tourism companies and entities, information innovations – used in the new promotional channels, new information system within tourism region, institutional innovations – new forms of support of tourismm enterprises, new form of co-operation (clusters); other forms of innovation (logistics, ecological, cultural, etc.) (A.-M. Hjalager, „A Review of Innovation Research in Tourism”, Tourism Management No. 3, 2010).

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN REGIONAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES Sources of innovation can be divided into two main groups: Internal sources (endogenous) – the origin of sources is in an organization, innovations can be a result of the research and internal knowledge. External sources (exogenous) – sources of innovation come from the environment (e.g.: demographic factors, changes in customers perception, new standards, values, knowledge).

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN REGIONAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES This primary research was conducted from November 2012 to February The winter period creates increased tourism activity in the region studied. The area of the research was a mountain area, situated within the administrative boundaries of the Silesia Province. In other studies the area is called: the Southern Sub-region of the Silesia Province or Bielsko Sub-region. There are concentrations of tourism enterprises and other organizations which provide tourism services, that have had an impact on the choice of the region of research.

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN REGIONAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES The results are the author's own empirical research, conducted through a survey questionnaire. The study was conducted on a random sample of tourism enterprises and entities. The representative research was based on tele - address lists, from which units were randomly selected for the research. 191 tourism subjects were involved in the survey, which represented 29.4% of the population. In the course of this research, 121 well completed questionnaires were received, that was 63.4% of the research sample. 62.8% of the researched subjects implemented innovations in the period of 3 years before the research study.

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN REGIONAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES The aim of the study was to identify: -sources of innovation, -effects of the implemented innovative solutions, -directions of innovation development, -Barriers to innovation. Research hypothesis: The possibility of creating innovation in tourism, and its implementation, is dependent on the internal preferences of companies and external factors. The relative strength of the impact of these factors varies.

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija Sources of innovation in researched tourism enterprises% Customers' comments, suggestions86.8% Willingness to take advantage of external funds68.4% Observing other domestic tourism enterprises55.3% Cooperation with institutions supporting the raising of funds48.7% Observing foreign tourism enterprises39.5% Information available in scientific and sectorial studies38.2% Comments received from inhabitants of the region35.5% Efficient human resources management31.6% Participation in conferences, professional meetings, fairs31.6% Cooperation with business partners with a similar business profile27.6% Cooperation in the local area network (clusters)22.4% Acquisition of patents, licenses, including leasing, franchising22.4% Cooperation with local and regional public or non-governmental institutions 21.1% Showing best practices by tourism entities13.2% Cooperation with the science sector11.8% Other sources of innovation2.6%

Effects of implemented innovations

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija Internal barriers to innovation

External barriers to innovation

ToSEE - Tourism in South East Europe 3rd International Scientific Conference Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development and Quality of Life University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT IN REGIONAL TOURISM ENTERPRISES Conclusions: The hypothesis established in the introduction is confirmed, subject to some limitations. The results show that there are many sources of innovation in tourism enterprises, but respondents draw attention especially to the external sources. The possibility of creating innovation in tourism is dependent on the internal pre- dispositions of companies but managers do not fully recognize the meaning of human resources in innovation processes. There are many barriers to innovation. The largest of them is the fear of financial costs of innovation and the mentality that disturb cooperation processes.

Thank you for your attention! Zbigniew Zontek University of Bielsko-Biala