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DOI: 10.5817/CZ.MUNI.P210-6840-2014-102
GOALS OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SLOVAKIA IN
THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND
SELECTED TOURISM MARKETS
CÍLE ROZVOJE CESTOVNÍHO RUCHU NA SLOVENSKU V
KONTEXTU REGIONÁLNÍHO ROZVOJE A VYBRANÝCH TRHŮ
CESTOVNÍHO RUCHU
DOC. ING. ANDREJ MALACHOVSKÝ, PHD.
Katedra cestovného ruchu a spoločného stravovania
Ekonomická fakulta
Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici
Department of Tourism and Hospitality
Faculty of Economics
Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica
* Tajovského 10, 975 90 Banská Bystrica, Slovak Republic
E-mail: andrej.malachovsky@umb.sk
Annotation
Tourism in Slovakia needs to have correctly set growth objectives for its long-term development. On
the one hand, these objectives must be based on the tourism offer in Slovakia and on the other hand,
on the current and anticipated demand. Also, objectives for the development of tourism must respect
the competitive position of Slovakia in international tourism. The quantitative aspect of tourism
objectives is reflecting the growth rate predicted by the UNWTO for tourism in the world and in
Europe. The aim of this paper is to highlight the interconnection of markets and targets in tourism in
the context of regional development. The problem of Slovakia in international competition is slow
growth and loss of key markets in tourism. Therefore, we investigate the source markets and propose
priorities and development goals. For analysis, we use time series of international and Slovak tourism
statistics.
Key words
tourism, goals of development, international competition, competitive advantage, tourism demand
Anotácia
Cestovný ruch na Slovensku potrebuje pre dlhodobý rozvoj správne stanovené ciele rastu. Tieto ciele
musia byť založené na jednej strane na rešpektovaní strany ponuky ako aj na existujúcom a
predpokladanom dopyte. Ciele tiež musia rešpektovať konkurenčnú pozíciu Slovenska v
medzinárodnom cestovnom ruchu. Kvantitatívna stránka cieľov v cestovnom ruchu musí zohľadňovať
rast, ktorý predpokladá UNWTO v cestovnom ruchu vo svete a v Európe. Cieľom príspevku je
zdôrazniť prepojenie medzi cieľmi rozvoja cestovného ruchu a trhmi v cestovnom ruchu v kontexte
regionálneho rozvoja. Problémom Slovenska je v medzinárodnej konkurencii pomalý rast a strata
kľúčových trhov v cestovnom ruchu. Preto skúmame zdrojové trhy a navrhujeme priority a ciele
rozvoja. Na analýzu používame časové rady medzinárodnej a slovenskej štatistiky cestovného ruchu.
Kľúčové slová
cestovný ruch, ciele rozvoja, medzinárodná konkurencia, konkurenčná výhoda, dopyt v cestovnom
ruchu
JEL classification: L83
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Introduction, material and methods
The destination offers a complex product to the visitor and it has to adapt its activities to this concept.
In marketing terms, the destination is a product and a subject in the tourism market exposed to the
competition from other destinations with the same, similar or substitution product. The activities of
the destination thus have to be planned and managed as a whole even if composed of independent
economic subjects. Lack of respect for this basic principle leads to a significantly lower cost
effectiveness and, in return, riskiness of finance from the public and private sector (Bednarczyk,
Malachovský, Wszendybyl, 2012, p. 37). In this case, many providers of services miss grasping this
background and they give priority to their short-term economic goals over medium- and long-term
planning which gives stability to tourism activities and helps the country as a tourist destination. The
planning of tourism as a destination requires creating a multifaceted system based on situational
analysis of tourism, setting a vision and a mission, creating strategic and operational goals, and setting
plans and strategies of tourism development. The significance of tourism for the economy and society
was recognized in a wider extent only in the mid-20th century, when tourism and its development
started to be coordinated on the national as well as multinational level (Gúčik, 2011, p. 9). This was
the beginning of formulating goals of tourism development to maximize the effect of its development.
J. Mundt (2004, p. 182) is one of the authors who deal with setting goals in the policy of tourism; he
underlines their decisive role in the process of creating a tourism strategy and policy in a competitive
environment. This paper researches long-term goals in the development of tourism in Slovakia from
the point of view of source markets and competitiveness with the intent to point out the importance of
setting the right goals in order to be successful in a competitive tourism market. The material for this
study is taken from relevant literature sources, time series of international tourism statistics and time
series of Slovak tourism statistics.
Strategic analysis of markets as a basis of setting goals
Strategic analysis is a starting point in creating a strategy for tourism development in Slovakia. In this
process, setting the right mission and goals for tourism to enhance economic and social development
is of primary importance (Donelly, Gibson, Ivanicevich, 1997, s. 426). Whatever the strategy, it is
only a follow-up tool to attain the set goals. The major strategy of development is subsequently
implemented through partial strategies as component parts of a tourism policy.
Compared to a standard crisis, the deficiencies in the process of planning and setting goals have a long
term impact on the demand, which in turn, leads to price fluctuations. Even though the instability in
tourism depends to a high degree on the external economic environment, it also has roots in the
internal system of tourism and is connected with unrealistic expectations as regards to the sector’s
performance.
Apart from the external economic environment, the supply of accommodation capacities in Slovakia
has long been growing faster than the demand, which has a negative influence on prices, and
subsequently on the profitability of accommodation facilities. Low effectiveness in tourism has had
a similar impact on the economy as a whole. This situation could have been prevented if tourism had
followed a stable and “best practices” model as it has been, for example, in Austria on the national,
regional, and local level.
Another problem resulting from these wrongly stated goals and mistakes in planning is a so-called
structural crisis, and in tourism it had a character of uneven development of individual regions, with
a persistently high share of the tourism sector confined to Bratislava and the High Tatras, especially
with regards to the total number of nights. According to the basic theorem of structural crisis,
such development points to ineffective or insufficient use of the tourism potential in other regions.
Ineffective or insufficient use of the resources (potential) of tourism development implies
a cumulation of supply and demand only to selected destinations. An insufficiently scattered supply to
other regions with a potential of development increases the risk in the time of crisis.
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Tables 1 and 2 show a comparison of selected tourism indicators in the world, Europe, and in
Slovakia. The data in the tables prove that the development of tourism in Slovakia was primarily
a result of a boom in the world and European economy based on various forms of debt. In the period
between 1995 – 2012, the number of tourists in the world grew by 96 %, from 528 million to 1 035
million people, and the revenues by 172 %, from €308 billion to €837 billion. In this period, tourism
in Europe was slower, as the number of tourists rose from 304 million in 1995 to 534 million in 2012,
which is a 76 % rise, and the revenues went up by 108%, from €160 billion to €356 billion. In that
period, the number of lodgings in Slovakia rose by 81%, which is only 5% more than in Europe, and
the number of foreign guests rose by only 1% more than the rest of Europe (67% in Slovakia, to 1.5m
guests). Slovakia recorded a much higher growth in foreign exchange earnings from tourism – 222 %
compared to 123 % in Europe. However, the natural growth in price and expenditures per day, which
are still much lower in Slovakia than in Europe and the world, must be considered here.
On the whole, this development in Slovakia is only a little different from the general upward trend in
European tourism. If we thus wanted to fulfill the different visions, strategies, and other documents
adopted by the government after 1989 without critical consideration of the potential growth of tourism
in our country, then we could state that the growth is identical to the development of competition and
is not a result of any system measures. Such a rate of growth cannot bring a higher share of tourism as
a percentage of GDP, an increase in revenues for regions, etc. A look into the break years in the
development of Slovakia’s tourism brings interesting facts. The admission of the country to the
European Union was a significant impetus for tourism; this was a time when the country recorded the
highest growth. However, the crisis resulted in the largest decrease of a number of indicators. The
important thing is how fast Europe’s tourism recovered from the crisis. By 2011, the revenues and the
number of tourists reached the pre-crisis level of 2008, though, not yet in Slovakia. What matters is
the admirable ability of tourism to recover and begin to grow again, and what is more, with
a surprising increase in places that have a stabilized system such as Austria.
Tab. 1: Comparison of selected indicators of tourism growth in the world, Europe and Slovakia in
1995 – 2012
Indicator/Year 1995 2000 2005 2008 2010 2011 2012 2012/95
World – million tourists 528 673 799 918 939 982 1 035 1,96
World – revenues in bn € 308 515 546 640 700 740 837 2,72
Europe – million tourists 304 385 440 486 475 504 534 1,76
Europe – revenues in bn € 160 251 281 321 309 333 356 2,23
SR – million lodgings 2.1 2.8 3.4 4.1 3.4 3.6 3,8 1,81
SR – million foreign guests 0.9 1.1 1.5 1.8 1.3 1.5 1,5 1,67
SR – million domestic guests 1.2 1.7 1.9 2.3 2.1 2.1 2,3 1,92
SR – revenues in bn Sk 18.5 19.9 37.5 55.2 50.7 52.6 59,4 3,22
SR – tourism balance in bn Sk 9 6.3 11.3 9.2 6.5 5.4 4,07 0,45
Source: Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the SR; own elaboration
In Table 2, we evaluate the growth rate of global, European, and Slovak tourism in different periods. It
is obvious that all were growing the fastest before 2008. Tourism recovered to its original level almost
as early as 2010 in Europe, but only as of lately has this process occurred in Slovakia (in 2010
Slovakia recorded the worst development in the balance of tourism). In 2005, this indicator reached
a record level of 11.3 billion Slovak korunas, however, this situation has yet to be repeated. The
reason was that the expenditures of the domestic population in foreign tourism grew faster than the
revenues from inbound tourism.
The data in Tables 1 and 2 prove to Slovakia that tourism can also be developed on the basis of
cyclical effects, but then it is also subjected to such effects. If we are talking about a significant
strengthening of tourism in the Slovak economy, then it must be developed at a higher rate than the
European competition, but also the economy as a whole. Unless these two assumptions are met, all the
declarations on the development of tourism can be taken only as empty words without ties to reality.
Such promises could only be met through a policy of tourism as a system of organization and
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financing this sector which is able to induce synergy and multiplication effects. As reported by
Makovník (2009, s. 57) and Makovník and Dorocák (2012, s. 180), the weakness of strategic
documents in tourism so far has been their application.
Tab. 2: Comparison of selected indicators of tourism growth in the world, Europe and Slovakia in
1995 – 2012 (annual changes)
Indicator/Year 2000/95 2005/00 2008/05 2010/08 2010/05 2011/10 2012/95 2008/95
World – tourists 1.27 1.19 1.15 1.02 1.18 1.05 1,96 1.74
World – revenues 1.67 1.06 1.17 1.09 1.28 1.06 2,72 2.08
Europe – tourists 1.27 1.14 1.10 0.98 1.08 1.06 1,76 1.60
Europe – revenues 1.57 1.12 1.14 0.96 1.10 1.08 2,23 2.01
SR – lodgings 1.33 1.21 1.21 0.83 1.00 1.06 1,81 1.95
SR – foreign guests 1.22 1.36 1.20 0.72 0.87 1.15 1,67 2.00
SR – domestic guests 1.42 1.12 1.21 0.91 1.11 1.00 1,92 1.92
SR – revenues 1.08 1.88 1.47 0.92 1.35 1.04 3,22 2.98
SR – tourism balance 0.70 1.79 0.81 0.71 0.58 0.83 0,45 1.02
Source: Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the SR; own elaboration
After 1989, tourism in Slovakia recorded a quantitative economic growth, yet, the important thing is
the quality and internal structure of this growth, especially in recent years. In 2003 – 2008, the total
number of overnight guests in Slovakia rose from 3.4 million to 4.1 million, which is a difference of
700 thousand people (Table 3). The annual growth rate in this peak period was thus 4%. In Europe,
the number of tourists in the same period rose from 400 million to 486 million, which is the same rate
of growth. This clearly demonstrates that the growth of tourism in Slovakia during the period was
nothing more than a cyclical growth. In 2009, this growth was replaced by a fall to the level of 2003,
which did not happen in any other European country. In 2003 – 2008, the number of domestic guests
increased from 2 million to 2.3 million and foreign guests from 1.4 million to 1.8 million. The rapid
growth of the number of foreign tourists was replaced by a slump to the level 1.3 million, which was a
return to the period before 2003. Between 2003 and 2011, the share of domestic guests in hotels
remained stable at 60% and foreign guests at an average of 40%.
After 1990, the key markets for Slovakia in inbound tourism were neighbouring countries and
Germany. As a consequence of a strong concentration on a small number of markets, in the crisis
period, from 2009, Slovakia was not able to face strong short-term outages, as for example in the case
of the Polish market after 2008. Together with other markets presented in Table 3, the share of key
foreign markets in the total number of guests was about 30%. Together with the domestic market,
these markets make 90% of the demand in tourism in Slovakia.
The sharp decrease in the number of overnight guests from Hungary and Poland since 2009 was a
combination of two dominant factors. First of all, it was the economic crisis which started in 2008,
and the second factor was the introduction of the euro in Slovakia. With an account to the time of the
introduction of the new currency, the exchange rate of the Slovak currency against the euro in early
2009 was around 36 Slovak korunas per 1 euro. On the introduction of the new currency, the
SKK/EUR exchange rate was set at 30.126, which is a 20% gain within one year. Compared to the
Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary are markets which react more sensitively to changes in
exchange rate. The reason is a lower average income per head. In the case of Hungary, there are also
other factors – a stronger impact of the economic crisis than in other countries and the slump of the
forint. A stronger currency of the receiving country has the same effect in tourism as in the export of
goods and services. The crisis had a similar impact on Czech guests who make the main source
market; yet, this market has received only little attention. The German segment in Slovakia sees a
long-term unfavourable development as it gradually loses the segment of guests from the former
German Democratic Republic and Slovakia has failed to develop marketing activities in the German
market.
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Tab. 3: Guests in selected accommodation facilities in Slovakia – selected markets (2003 – 2012)
Indicator/Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Guests 3 373 540 3 244 485 3 428 083 3 583 879 3 777 754 4 082 645 3 381 354 3 392 361 3 571 093 3 774 062
- of which domestic 1 986 749 1 843 296 1 913 103 1 972 071 2 093 228 2 316 116 2 083 279 2 065 722 2 110 732 2 246 562
- of which domestic in
%
58.9 56.8 55.8 55.0 55.4 56.7 61.6 60.9 59.1 59.5
- of which foreign 1 386 791 1 401 189 1 514 980 1 611 808 1 684 526 1 766 529 1 298 075 1 326 639 1 460 361 1 527 500
-of which foreign in % 41.1 43.2 44.2 45.0 44.6 43.3 38.4 39.1 40.9 40.5
From countries
Czech Republic 469 991 419 273 424 900 455 381 490 986 537 180 425 414 433 321 477 159 491 136
CZ in % 13.9 12.9 12.4 12.7 13.0 13.2 12.6 12.8 13.4 13.0
France 28 629 37 006 42 668 41 095 41 301 43 958 34 045 32 967 35 931 39 458
FR in % 0.8 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Hungary 100 546 111 065 121 615 121 981 93 797 90 123 56 111 51 324 59 000 59 885
HU in % 3.0 3.4 3.5 3.4 2.5 2.2 1.7 1.5 1.7 1.6
Germany 175 746 188 067 194 158 190 422 176 059 164 694 133 989 131 674 133 431 135 897
GER in % 5.2 5.8 5.7 5.3 4.7 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.7 3.6
Poland 215 383 179 078 198 479 224 159 243 917 308 437 164 712 161 851 172 001 163 754
PL in % 6.4 5.5 5.8 6.3 6.5 7.6 4.9 4.8 4.8 4,3
Austria 51 365 55 609 55 630 60 560 62 661 62 052 50 065 51 678 58 983 65 621
AT in % 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.7 1.7
Russia 22 681 18 074 19 779 19 509 22 730 25 982 23 382 26 968 35 122 40 817
RUS in % 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.1
Great Britain 26 062 34 349 51 720 63 137 63 193 66 628 42 315 40 961 39 476 46 641
GB in % 0.8 1.1 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.3 1.2 1.1 1.2
Spain 5 464 9 022 9 665 11 429 14 166 17 693 17 549 16 926 19 635 17 969
ES in % 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
TOTAL 1 095 899 1 051 575 1 118 646 1 187 706 1 208 842 1 316 779 947 610 947 697 1 030 766 1 001 178
Total in % 32.5 32.4 32.6 33.1 32.0 32.3 28.0 27.9 28.9 26,5
Other coutries 290 892 349 614 396 334 424 102 475 684 449 750 350 465 378 942 429 595 526 322
Other c. in %
8.6 10.8 11.6 11.8 12.6 11.0 10.4 11.2 12.0 14,0
Source: Statistical Office of the SR 2013 and own elaboration
Goals of the Development of Tourism in Slovakia in the Context of Regional
Development
The strategic goals of tourism development in Slovakia are based on our long-time research which
was summarized in Strategic directions of tourism development (Bednarczyk, Malachovský,
Wszendybyl, 2012).
To offer a differentiated competitive product and improve its quality for target groups abroad and at
home means to offer a differentiated product on the global market in relationship to the neighbouring
countries which are our source markets. These considerations come from the example of Austria,
which reports year-to-year increases in the number of guests from Poland, Czech Republic and
Hungary.
To support the creation of complex packages of services by tourist associations in the places of
destination means to respect the product as a result of common effort of the public and private sector
in tourism. This assumption of creating a successful offer in an atomized market has been verified by
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theory and practice. In Slovakia, in accordance with legislation, there have already been established
regional organizations of tourism financed from their own sources as well as state subsidies whose
reponsibility is management and marketing of tourism in their respective region.
To change gradually transit and one-day tourism to short-term and longer-term tourism means to
prolong the stays of domestic and foreign guests. The competitor countries make similar efforts to
moderate the opposite trend in development.
To create a confident image of Slovakia as a tourist destination in existing and new markets is a goal
resulting from a research of the World Travel and Tourism Research [12], which showed that Slovakia
has a rather poor image in tourism on an international level. Our country did not succeed to make a
more positive image in the decision-making of potential guests about which country to visit.
To support a marketing offensive for participation in domestic tourism means to intensify marketing
activities in the domestic tourism market. This is a standard marketing tool used also by competitor
countries which could, in the case of Slovakia, slow down the long-term falling trend in the number of
domestic guests.
Tab. 4: Medium- and short-term goals of the strategy of tourism in Slovakia
Medium-term goals
(up to three years)
Short-term goals
(up to one or two years)
§ Offer of a differentiated competitive
product and improvement of its quality
for target groups abroad and at home,
§ Support of creating complex packages of
services by tourist associations in the
places of destination,
§ Gradual change from transit and one-day
tourism to short-term and longer-term
tourism,
§ Confident creation of Slovakia’s image
as a tourist destination in existing and
new markets,
§ Support for a marketing offensive for the
participation in domestic tourism,
§ Gradual adoption of particular laws to
regulate the development and enterprise
in tourism,
§ Establishment of the national information
system and its connection to global
information systems and systems of
reservation,
§ Stimulating inbound foreign tourism
organized by travel agencies,
§ Support of cross-border cooperation in
creating regional tourist products.
Completing the ancillary equipment in destinations in order to create
a complex differentiated tourist product,
Coordination of marketing activities of the Slovak Tourist Board at home
and abroad as a partner of tourism subjects in Slovakia,
Gradual transition from global promotion of Slovakia as a tourist
destination to a differentiated promotion respecting the specific needs
of target groups,
More intensive promotion and support of domestic tourism in electronic
and mass media,
More intensive education of the population toward the development of
tourism and lifelong education of the staff in tourism,
Organizing and stimulating competition of tourist destinations in the
creation and protection of the environment,
Support of the production and distribution of original souvenirs and tourist
literature, postcards with tourist motives and official logo of the
Slovak Republic,
An allowance for domestic tourism from employers compensated by a tax
relief,
Providing a subsidized loan for purchasing a holiday at home and support
for social tourism,
Marketing activities focused on research of the existing target market and
potential markets in foreign tourism,
More intensive activity of foreign representations of the Slovak Tourist
Board in key sending countries (Czech Republic, Germany, Poland,
Hungary, Austria),
Monitoring and influencing the quality of tourist services, also through
industrial unions and the Slovak Trade Inspection and the Association
for Consumer Rights Protection,
Increase of the safety of tourists in the territory of Slovakia,
More stringent requirements in terms of qualifications for the award of
concessions, especially for travel agencies,
Coordination of tourism development activities by a central state
administration in order to apply a uniform policy in the market,
Establishment of a lottery for the benefit of tourism development with
monetary and non-monetary prizes in promoting domestic tourism.
Source: own elaboration based on BEDNARCZYK, M., MALACHOVSKÝ, A., WSZENDYBYL, E. 2012. Strategic
directions of tourism development. Krakov : Jagellonian University Press, 2012. 157 s. ISBN 978-83-233-3427-
9
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To adopt gradually particular laws to regulate the development of enterprise in tourism is also a
precondition of successful tourism development from an international point of view. Since tourism
and its product is a common task for the public and private sector, it needs special legislation, similar
to Austria and Switzerland.
To establish the national information system and connect it to global information and reservation
systems is an inevitable condition for success in international competition. Slovakia is lagging behind
in the development of comprehensive information as for content, graphics and structure (Pompurová,
2011, s. 28). One of the essential requirements today is to improve the internet presentation of
Slovakia from the part of the Slovak Tourist Board (SACR) and tourist regions.
Stimulating inbound foreign tourism organized by travel agencies and supporting cross-border
cooperation in creating regional tourist products result from a need to intensify the activities of travel
agencies which are focusing only on passive tourism. Cross-border cooperation is a standard tool of
tourism policy to support source markets from neighbouring countries, which are usually the most
important source markets for the tourism of a particular country.
The objective of the goals is to achieve the mission of tourism development in society (Porter, 1994,
p. 28). At the same time, they are the focal point in the development of strategies. Strategic goals are
formulated for different time periods, in most cases for one to five years. One-year goals are
considered short-term, three-year goals medium-term and five-year goals long-term. In view of the
rate of change of the external environment, formulating goals for a longer period than five years is not
considered realistic (Pompurová, 2013).
Following J. Papula (1993, p. 107), a goal is a desirable state to be achieved in the future which is
measurable with appropriate qualitative or also quantitative indicators and documented by a schedule
of accomplishment. Goals call for action and specify the results to be expected in fulfilling the
mission; they are set for areas which have an impact on the performance and prosperity of the
industry. Goals determine, above all, the position in the market, need for innovation, productivity of
the industry, scope of responsibilities, relationship to the staff, and social responsibility. G. Sládek
(1999, p. 136) maintains that a fully developed and competitive tourism market which will in the
future be integrated into the European and world market is a strategic goal and it cannot be created in
only a few years. It is a long-term process which requires support from the government, nongovernmental
organizations, and public administration authorities as well as constructive cooperation
of all the interested industries, regions, districts, communities, and business people.
The strategic goals of tourism in Slovakia are based on an assessment of strengths and weaknesses of
the dometic and international tourism market (Bednarczyk, Malachovský, Wszendybyl, 2012). The
strategy envisions the implementation of these long-term goals (up to 5 years):
§ to restore dynamic growth of foreign exchange earnings from foreign tourism by 10% a year on
average, which corresponds to the worldwide trend and which will allow a preserved share for
Slovakia in the international tourism market),
§ to increase the number of foreign tourists (guests staying for at least one night) by 5% on average,
§ to increase the share of Slovakia in the European tourism market and penetration into new target
markets,
§ to increase the participation of middle and lower social classes of the population in the domestic
tourism market,
§ to increase the quality of services and quality of destinations.
§ Strategic goals are interrelated and have an influence on one another. In order to accomplish them
successfully, it is necessary to formulate a number of goals for shorter periods.
Medium- and short-term goals can be organized into a comprehensive scheme. In the span of three
years, it is necessary to ensure the implementation of medium-term goals and in the span up to one
year short-term goals.
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In order to achieve medium-term goals, it is necessary to formulate short-term goals. Short-term goals
are interrelated and one accomplished short-term goal has an influence on several medium-term goals.
Short-term goals have a character of measures. The time span of their accomplishment is short, and
thus they must be fulfilled almost simultaneously. An overview of the outlined medium-term and
short-term goals is shown in Table 4.
Slovakia has to set the goals of development in the context of the development in neighbouring
countries, which are a direct competition, as well as countries with longer traditions of tourism
development. The reason for such an evaluation and setting of goals is a higher degree of development
as well as an opportunity to learn from the mistakes in development and thus have a chance to avoid
them. We consider Austria and Switzerland two crucial countries in tourism from which it is possible
to get inspiration in setting goals. The reason for our opinion is also the fact that the recent
development in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary has been particularly marked by cyclical
effects. Due to this fact, we do not consider the development in these countries an outcome of tourism
policy and administratively set goals.
The above-mentioned strategic goals set in the context of international competition are to contribute to
a better development of regions. In the EU, Slovakia is one of the countries with the biggest regional
disparities and at the same time, with the largest share of foreign capital in creating GDP. In standard
market economies, tourism makes an integral part of the economy, to a large degree contributes to
mitigating the impact of regional differences and creates job opportunities for the population. This is
its irreplaceable role from a macroeconomic as well as regional point of view. In standard economies,
tourism is a stabilizing factor of regions in the time of crisis, since small and medium-sized hotels are
striving to survive and develop further in spite of the difficult economic situation.
Conclusion
Tourism in Slovakia after 1990 has recorded growth rates which were primarily a result of the
economic boom in Europe. In order to achieve higher rates of growth than the competition in Europe,
Slovakia must adopt and implement a set of long-term and short-term goals. At the same time, for key
markets, it has to adapt the tourist product, stabilize these markets and gain new markets for existing
and innovative products. In addition to these aims, it is necessary to stabilize the organizational
structure of tourism at the level of the state and tourist destinations as a prerequisite of growth and
creating a competitive advantage in tourism. The condition for this development is the cooperation of
private and public sector, which is a basis of effective appreciation of investment and achievement of
a synergy effect.
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