A review on value creation in tourism industry

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world and a major driver of growth for developed countries. To maximize the tourism sector's economic benefits tourism development planning and strategies not only have to focus on increasing demand and supply but also they must concentrate on raising the level of value retention and on value creation and value co-creation within the sectors. Serious policy in one of these sectors may threat the whole tourism value chain. This makes analysis of the sector complex but crucial as it could be the catalyst for wide spread reforms. To offer a better tourism product, one should understand the sources of critical factors (ie: environmental, industry and organizational factors) for competing either domestically or internationally. Comparative and competitive advantages, information and communication systems and E-tourism, knowledge of value and value chain (identifying and analyzing the specific activities through which it can create value for its customers) all are the perquisite for value creation and value co-creation (the source of value lies in the personalized experiences that are unique to each individual customer). To achieve these, special attention must be devoted to strategic management, planning and society, in order to satisfy all stakeholders' expectation. Based on the above paradigm a model for value creation in tourism is proposed in this paper. It is hoped that this study could drive destinations to create and co- create the values that makes a unique and memorable experience for each tourist.