The improving of business efficiency in relationship between tour operators and SHME's using the ICT.

Krzelj-Colovic, Zorica ; Mihajlovic, Iris

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between tour operators and small and medium sized hospitality enterprises. Changes of preferences and needs influenced on different values appriciated from tourist demand. According that changes the subjects of tourist supply must be orientated in offering through their tourist products. Tour operators must adopt its traditionally homogenious product- means packages throught specifical tourists preferences. The possibilities that the environment provides, which would SMHE's (small and medium sized hospitality enterprises) must recognize and incorporate into their business processes, resulting primarily from the location of their receptive tourist countries.

Key words: tour operator, small and medium sized hospitality enterprises, information and communication technology, distribution channels

1. INTRODUCTION

Dynamic environment affects the competitiveness of the tourism industry. SMHE's provide a very diverse range of tourism products and services, facilitate rapid infusion of tourism spending into local economies, while in leisure tourism they usually shoulder the distinctive function of offering a local character to the increasingly homogenised tourist packages. Furthermore, highlights weaknesses SMHE's contained through lack of vision, experience in strategic planning and lack of experience to the advantages and characteristics of a space to use, and sell more demanding tourists. Many years of experience and mode of tour operators has encouraged and highlighted the growing need for collaboration between these two completely different market operators.

Qualitative changes in foreign tourist demand are primarily evident in the restructuring of the tourist offer, ie, subjects from business and cooperation of various forms of concentration see their business interests. On the tourist market except for known forms of vertical and horizontal integration is an emphatic need for new forms of cooperation in which will unite the interests of stakeholders. Actually it is a possibility of complementation of products and services in tourism, service providers and agents, arising from the mutual interests of stakeholders, which offer different levels of products. In case the tour operators for an integrated tourist product, whose components record the diversity of service and as a rule (except for length, ie, more than 24 hours and that one of the services included overnight) are not determined explicitly, unless the customer expectations, ie, quality. In the case of SMHE talking about elemental products contained in the basic mission covering accommodation, meals and extra amenities. Specific features of one space are contained in a resource that provides the same, as the most common motivating factors are the natural and cultural factors of anthropogenic factors. In these specific features are included destinations and reasons for joining the destination, a foundation on which the hotel industry saw both its development opportunities. On this basis SMHE make their product.

2. HISTORY OFRELATIONSHIP: TOUROPERATORS--HOTELS AND DESTINATION--TOURIST

Historically operators who are offering an integrated tourism products, the philosophy of his successful business based on economies of scale by offering a uniform, "readymade" products, whose purpose was determined by the conditions of mass tourism. For providers who were often condemned to a time within which the risk to facilities should be completed and show a higher utilization and therefore cost-effective operations, new relations agent and hoteliers are meant to guarantee greater occupancy of aircraft seats and higher occupancy during the year. These conditions through better capacity utilization are further given the possibility of hoteliers and other service providers in the destination of the possibility of lowering the price of individual products. On the other hand, these conditions for tour operators have meant the possibility of further lowering the price of package tours and an extremely attractive price flat rate arrangements, bringing new masses of tourists. Profit-oriented, financially empowered operators rather like a real business capital have intensified their operations, investing in buying vehicles such as buses, and hotel accommodation in tourist destinations (hence the function and highlighted the promotion of destinations for tour operators). Continuity of unplanned and chaotic construction in many receiving areas gave rise to the unattractive space and disharmony, which was completely destroyed originality of space and made huge losses. Although one can not deny that they are receptive country through increased occupancy and foreign investors generally receptive through increased traffic routes based its continuity of development, it is concluded that the policies of many receiving countries were not strategic insight, and has been exclusively driven by short-term successes, gathering its scot--physical disharmony.

In parallel to this situation in the tourist market there is a large shift in the interests of tourists. Self-conscious, informed, owing in part to the possibilities of modern information--communication technology (ICT), tourists are more inclined and willing to show their interest and to individualize their journey. They became more independent and harder to "ask" (Lubbe, 2005). For such a radical reversal of any tour operators or hoteliers were not ready, and the contents of the destination they could not provide. The new adjustment meant a diversification of business and diversified product range, as tourism operators and operators of tourist agents.

The competitive position of the tourist destination must be explained through: the factor conditions (including natural and cultural resources, capital and infrastructure resources and human resources); the quality and structure of suppliers forming the destination, as well as the operating network alliances and the related experience; the market and organizational structures, the distribution channels, the strategies and targets; as well as, the demand conditions (Smeral, 1998). Complementary of the offer is as previously stated the obvious attractions of tourism products of certain operators of tourist attractions. Dynamic environment, and numerous structural changes that have occurred in the tourist market are exchanged strategic orientation tour operators, diversified products that are placed and the process continued up to the creation of entirely new products, which embed to the new market trends. At the same time SMHE's own culture was based on indigenous business space by offering distinctive brand of products, and as is well known the intrinistic value of the brand name can be capitalized on, through the efforts focused on the joint of marketing of products and tourism (Hjalager, 2007). Their development opportunities SMHE's have seen in new developments that have occurred in the tourist market. Commercial interest in the position where at one point on the tourist market participants have found, which arises from the conditions dictated by the business environment, influenced by both closely cooperation of tour operators and SMHE's.

3. DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS--MEANING IN RELATION TO THE TOUR OPERATORS' AND SMHE's

The era of mass communication has transformed the tourist gaze. The mass consumption of standardized products and tour operators, airlines show the dependence of some of these smaller companies, with regard to how their services are realized, and in this regard point to the strengthening of cooperation and competition among them. At the same time the interests of consumers who support the specialization of tourism products in line with many activities and amenities packages, quality of content it offers, products SMTEs the destination, require knowledge and experience and expertise in communication, and specifically in the sale.

The role of distribution channels based on a agent role to bring together buyers and sellers. Further refers to the ability to create a market where not previously existed, to increase the size of the market or simply to increase its efficiency. Externally observed today is obvious causality relationship between the distribution channel and consumer behavior on which the selection of routes and local suppliers who are with their services involved in the decision to purchase a product with tourists. Preference for package tours that depart today from the traditionalist conceptually understood standardized packages, shows a growing interest of tourists for the new shape of these products, but also new forms of reservations where access to them.

In terms of communication is certainly one of the great advantages which tour operator is used in business, and is based on many years of extensive experience of business, knowledge of culture and language of tourists from the countries they come from, is the ease with which transfers the information to tourists and instructed him with the details related to the product. At the same time is contained in said one big disadvantage for SMHE's, and refers to the lack of experience in both market research and his typical behavior of consumers, and lack of vision and respect for her strategic planning. Further promotion of destinations and facilities that service the destination offers means great savings for SMHE's the security that it will be professionally done. Tour operators screen quality that tourists will enjoy the use of the destination.

Contemporary information and communication technology to its interactive performances, provides access to information related to the tourism product, the information makes it more transparent and useful, and the possibility of purchasing and booking more efficient. Product placement has evolved through new methods and techniques of communication and increased efficiency. In fact it can be said that here comes a level of complementary methods and techniques of communication to increase efficiency of product placement. However, according to some opinions, insecurity and lack of personal contact could be one of the major flaws with that ICT has to deal with (Vasudavan & Standing, 2000).

The strategic and operational strenghts for SMHE's, along with business relationship with tour operator are visionable through: a) assign of business activities SMTE's bearing on the business risk tour operators', b) increased ability, medium and long term planning, c) the redaction task, redirecting operations, relieving the sales functions d) reducing the amount of expenses that involve-promotion, e) increased representation and strategic visibility in international markets, f) expansion of the business season g) monitoring of quality standards and suggestions for improvement (Bastakis et al., 2004).

4. CONCLUSION

Tour operators have seen the possibilities of expanding space tourist destination with plentiful facilities that offers an interesting framework for their innovative tourism products. Their tourism product continues to be held on the fundamental philosophy of the business of tour operators', while the innovation was included in the specialty business. Their development opportunities SMHE's have seen in new developments that have occurred in the tourist market. SMHE's are often weakly managed and marketed, since they lack the resources on the one hand to employ specialized personnel, and on the other hand to promote themselves adequately. These weaknesses coupled with the lack of basic business information force most SMHE's to adopt a "product oriented" than a "market oriented" approach in their tourism offer. SMHE's become the "weakest link" within the distribution channel, and their dependency on intermediaries becomes unavoidable. Commercial interest in the position where at one point on the tourist market participants have found, which arises from the conditions dictated by the business environment, influenced by both closely cooperation of tour operators and SMHE's. Respecting the researchers and opinions of tourist experts it is proposed that subjects in tourism (i.e. tour operators and SMHE's) must cooperate developing the synergistic effects. Considering the complexity of the environment they must also develop strategic vision. The emphasis is on the market conditions as if different and sophistic needs of market segments, needs for specialized, high quality services from one side and high competition that influence on compulsory of vertical integration, very important in placement of tourist product of both mentioned market subjects

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