The article from Hjalager (2010) is a comprehensive review of research innovation in the tourism field of the two decades from 1990 until 2010. It introduces the various categories of innovation, then goes on elucidating the driving forces that bring to tourism innovations and giving an overview of the work of R&D bodies in tourism organizations. From that point on, Hjalager (2010) starts giving a deeper insight on at what extent is tourism innovating. First of all, he finds out how most of the previous studies show the correlation between the size of the enterprise or destination and the intensity of innovation measures. Secondly, the article highlights the importance of inter-firm relations as crucial for enhancing innovativeness in tourism. However, Sørensen (2007) points out how not likely are tourism enterprises to establish social networks and to collaborate, at a local, but also at a wider level. Thirdly, Hjalager (2010) points out reasons of reluctance among entrepreneurs to invest in innovation, such as: the perceived cost of innovation and the inability of customers to recognize improvements. Moreover, entrepreneurs claim they are too busy and their staff is not enough competent to approach such changes. Fourthly, the article stresses out the effects of implementing a new innovative system. Customers seem to prefer it and more in general, a product differentiation is often key for success. On the other side, there is no real cost reduction, but the pay-off is quite quick. Finally, the study takes a deeper look on how changes in policies open interactions and therefore foster innovation (Pikkemaat & Weiermair, 2007). The article of Hjalager (2010) is not updated, but some of his findings are outlined in more recent studies. Divisekera and van Nguyen (2018) remark the importance of collaboration among firms, size of companies and human resources development as key determinants for service innovation. They also point out foreign ownership and high competition levels, as factors for higher propensity to innovation. According to Hjalager (2010), accommodation and attraction managers think that marketing and product innovation is the most relevant in tourism. Finding innovative product solutions is becoming of bigger importance since lots of purchases are done now online and consumers’ price sensitivity is increasing. A very innovative idea was presented by Hjalager (2010), with the “Formule1” concept by the Accor hotel chain, worldwide famous for its luxurious brands. Accor introduced a new low-price brand with the same comforts of its more blazoned cousin-brands. Lufthansa Group is another similar example. The airline is well-known for its Point-to-Point Airlines segment consisting of the Eurowings Group, Brussels Airlines and the equity investment in SunExpress. As it can be read in their website, “With the Eurowings group, the Lufthansa Group has an innovative and competitive offering for price-sensitive and service-oriented customers in the growing direct traffic segment. […] The concept is based on a scalable company structure that enables the flexible integration of new partners on the basis of various cooperation models” (Lufthansa Group AG). There are many enterprises in the tourism field that are trying to do the same, and usually this differentiation of the products offered ends up in being a successful factor for these companies. For this reason, developing new and innovative products that are not affected by the transparency of prices and offers online, might be the key for further development in the tourism field.

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References

• Divisekera, S., & van Nguyen, K. (2018). Determinants of innovation in tourism evidence from Australia. Tourism Management, 67, 157–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2018.01.010

• Hjalager, A.-M. (2010). A review of innovation research in tourism. Tourism Management, 31(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2009.08.012

• Lufthansa Group AG. Point-to-Point Airlines. Retrieved from https://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/company/business-segments/point-to-point-airlines.html

• Pikkemaat, B., & Weiermair, K. (2007). Innovation through Cooperation in Destinations: First Results of an Empirical Study in Austria. Anatolia, 18(1), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2007.9687036

• Sørensen, F. (2007). The Geographies of Social Networks and Innovation in Tourism. Tourism Geographies, 9(1), 22–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616680601092857