The Importance Of Innovation In The Tourism Industry

Innovation is a procedure in which the product or provided service is ready for improvement, in order to maintain a good company and to not be the same as the competitors. So in other words, innovation is being done to make a product or service better and more valuable, and therefore attracting more customers. Because the product has improved, customers are willing to buy this specific product because it is better than the product that the competitors provide.

However, not all products that have been improved can be called an innovation. In order to be called an innovation, the idea must be recreated for a cheaper price and it must satisfy a specific need.

There are two different perspectives on innovation.

1. The first one is the business aspect: hereby, innovation often occurs when ideas are adjusted by a company in order to please the desires and expectations of the purchasing clients.

2. The

The most common current trend is the global growth of the tourism sector. The European tourism market as part of global tourism is also increasing, especially in larger destinations. International air traffic has increased by 5% compared to the previous years. (ETC / CET, 2014).

International tourism has become a major sector in the travel industry. In the case of Amsterdam, 74% of tourists are from foreign countries. According to CBS, the amount of foreign tourists in the Netherlands was 580.000 in 2013 which is two percent more than in the previous year and an even bigger growth is expected. The international tourism growth in Amsterdam can be explained by renovations and reopening’s of major museums which draw some extra attention to the destination.

The majority of tourists in Amsterdam are from Germany, The United Kingdom and The United States but recently the amount of tourists from new markets such as China, Japan and India has increased. (European Commission,