The Tourist Value Chain. A Conceptual Framework for Effective Designing of Tourist Product

The aim of this is paper is to propose a conceptual model for the consistent design of tourist product. The tourist’s overall assessment of the quality of the services offered by the tourist industry is a holistic synthesis of all the partial perceived assessments formed in relation to a multiplicity of single experiences made across the whole process of using tourist services. This may be defined as the tourist’s point of view. The tourist product is complex because it is typically made up of a variety of components such as tourist attractions, travel and lodging services, destination brands, transport infrastructures etc. which are supplied by different and independent providers who do not share a common strategy and inter-organisational processes. This may be termed the tourist product provider's point of view. Where the tourist's and the tourist product provider's perspectives meet, the result is a high quality tourist product. The aim of this paper is to formulate a conceptual reference framework called “the tourist value chain” by listing the phases and sequential activities experienced by the tourist in the course of trying the tourist services on offer. The framework can provide a tool for creating a tourist-centred product.