THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING COMPETITIVE: A PROXIMITY RELATIONSHIP OF TOURISTIC ELEMENTS IN FVG MOUNTAIN AREA Marika GON PhD candidate XXIX cycle MAS Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Udine ALESSIA MOVIA PhD candidate XXIX cycle Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Udine
INTRODUCTION TOURISM -> key element to react economic decline and outmigration of the indigenous population in many rural, hilly and mountain areas. ->enhance local development + defending natural environment, traditional and cultural heritage. VIRTOUS CYCLE: NATURAL LANDSCAPE + ART (culture and historical context) implemented by GASTRONOMY and WINE production trends, enriched the mosaic of touristic elements that characterise a touristic destination and it potential competitiveness (Hjalager and Richards, 2002). DESTINATION COMPETITIVENESS is a fundamental pillar in the research field of tourism. The paper wishes to join the discussion within a proximity relation perspective among distinctive touristic elements: Natural Landscape, Culture, Art, Wine, Food and Hospitality are complementary in their mosaic combination.
PAPER and RESEARCH key role of NL-CA-WF-H elements in enhancing destination competitiveness. It analyses the nature of the linkages and the role of cultural, organisational and geographical proximity between them A Touristic Proximity Index (TPI) has been calculated for each Accommodation facility, which relates the closeness to NL-AC-WF points to performance. Interesting correlations can be proved within 1km radius area around the Hospitality point.
AREA OF STUDY Municipalities associated in Unione montana del Gemonese : -MOGGIO UDINESE - RESIUTTA -VENZONE - GEMONA DEL FRIULI -BORDANO -TRASAGHIS - FORGARIA -MONTENARS - ARTEGNA
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK TOURISM DESTINATION COMPETITIVENESS -> Ritchie and Crouch (2000, 2003) destination s competitive advantage is based on the existence of a comparative advantage, given by resources availability, enhanced by the destination s ability to use these resources effectively over the long term. DEFINITION OF NATURAL LANDSCAPE ART WINE GASTRONOMY as components of the mosaic of touristic elements that characterise a touristic destination and it potential competitiveness (Hjalager and Richards, 2002). PROXIMITY as one of the DETERMINANTS and INDICATORS of destination competitiveness (Dwyer and Kim, 2003). PROXIMITY declined as per BOSCHMA (2005): Social, organizational and geographical proximity (3/5) PERFORMANCE on the Hospitality and Accomodation facilities financial and non-financial operational indicators (Eccles, 1991; Kozak and Rimmington, 1999), including also subjective variables and internal performance determinants (Sainaghi, 2010).
METHODOLOGY A) The presence of NL-A-WF-H elements have been defined and identified in terms of geographical points, according to FVG regional databases and Bergamini, (1999), at municipal level. B) Creation of databases and geo references for every single NL-A-WG point for selected area. C) Elaboration of maps developed with QGIS 1.8- LISBOA. D) Survey questionnaires and phone interviews to the managers of the accommodation facilities, with reference to the year 2013 performance evaluation. Items were measured by close questions and a 5-point Likert scale, italian language. E) the relationship among NL-A-WG and accommodation point was measures in terms of cognitive, institutional and geographical proximity. Data collection was performed at the municipalities of Gemona and Venzone in spring summer 2014.
RESULTS and FINDINGS Gemona and Venzone. The sample size (population) 16 elements of natural landscape, 33 art and cultural heritage, 16 points of wine and gastronomy 11 accommodation and hospitality full capacity: 140,000 beds in the year 2013, over an area of 110.7 km sq.
We have visualised the surface area of 5 km radius for every single accommodation point and detected the NL-A-WG present inside each area of pertinence. (Our own QGIS elaboration).
We have visualised the surface area of 1 km radius for every single accommodation point and detected the NL-A-WG present inside each area of pertinence. The map confirms the presence of the two outsiders and shows that the large majority of Accommodation facilities (hotels and extra hotels) are located relatively close to the city centres.
THE TOURISTIC PROXIMITY INDEX - TPI NL-A-WG points (1km 5 km) / performance (occupancy rate) we verified the specific number of NL A -WG around every H point within: A) 1 km radius, corresponding to on foot walking area B) 5 km radius, as per area named by car. The results were related to the total presence of NL-A-WG points with a proportion outcome. The percentage of NL-A-WG points resulting first from A and then from B are divided for the performance of the specific accommodation facility, expressed by a percentage of the occupancy rate given by every single manager for each activity.
LIMITATIONS 1) limited dataset availability in national and regional statistics and nearly a total unavailability at the municipal level -> there were very little data available for the tourism sector of the Gemona and Venzone and no one was georeferentiated in WGS84 coordinates system. 2) the difficulty to define and georeferenciate natural landscape points. 3) the area of study was too limited, although homogenous.
IMPLICATIONS This paper implements data on the touristic sector and the role of proximity in the combination of elements. The importance of the topic is due to recent focus on development of mountainous and hilly areas. With this aim, authors developed the Touristic proximity index as a tool to understand the proximity relationships among NL-A-WG elements and their impact on the performance of the touristic accommodation sector. The study suggests that a deep focus on proximity to and among NL-A-WG mosaic can implement the research in tourism destination competitiveness. The resulting analysis and mapping of the territorial touristic offer of specific municipalities can be extended to specific areas, especially rural and mountain, to enhance their capacity of touristic attractiveness and competitiveness, and consequently enhance their economical development.
IMPLICATIONS
CONCLUSIONS The results and the outcome of the Touristic proximity Index show that the NL-A-WG aspects are relevant to the performance of the hospitality sector. However, for some hospitality points performance was low due to several different aspect that need to be further investigated The paper proposes a new perspective in the touristic destination competitiveness: the proximity of elements and enhances the use of GIS tools. As per authors knowledge these issues have been under-researched in previous studies and this work aims to fill the gap as much as develop a useful proximity model and index for scholars, practitioners and policy makers in the future development of tourism enhancing strategies.
REFERENCES 1. Boschma, R. (2005). Proximity and innovation: a critical assessment. 2. Crouch, G. I., & Ritchie, J. R. (1999). Tourism, competitiveness, and societal prosperity. 3. Gomezelj, D. O., & Mihalic, T. (2008). Destination competitiveness Applying different models, the case of Slovenia. 4. Kozak, M., & Rimmington, M. (1998). Benchmarking: destination attractiveness and small hospitality business performance. 5. Jovanovijegus, A. (2013). The application of GIS and its components in tourism.
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