Anna Michálková

The presented article focuses on examining two important areas within the framework of tourism development in the region, namely development management and cooperation of the interest groups in the tourism industry in the region. The main goal of the presented article is threefold: (1) identifying and measuring the perceived rate of problems in development management in the tourism industry, (2) identifying and measuring the perceived rate of problems of cooperation between the interest groups in the tourism industry, (3) examining connections between problem rates of development management and cooperation between interest groups in tourism. Based on professional literature, key factors (problems) in these areas were identified. Subsequently, tools to measure the rate of development, the reliability of which was verified based on McDonald's omega, were created. The article is supported by a primary survey in which 95 experts on the topic of regional tourism from Europe participated. The results indicate an average to above-average perceived rate of problems within the examined areas. An examination of the relationships between the problems of development management and the cooperation of interest groups in the development of regional tourism can be considered significant, where significant positive connections were confirmed. The results add to the knowledge base of the issue in question. At the same time, it is possible to identify practical benefits within the framework of identification, quantification and comparison of individual problems within the framework of tourism development.

As clusters currently represent a significant support in the development of regions, it is important to analyze their potential in the tourism industry. In Slovakia, tourism clusters work alongside local tourism organizations for legislative reasons. The main aim of the present study is to use appropriate identification methods to map the microeconomic environment of the selected tourism region and subsequent analysis to evaluate the existing preconditions for successful and efficient operation of the tourism cluster. The results of the survey serve as an input database for the application of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method, which revealed the current cluster potential in the Upper Povazie region. The individual determinants of the Porter?s Diamond model achieved favorable results. Using multiple regression analysis, quantification and interpretation of the interrelationships between input variables were enabled. The applied analysis shows that the potential pillars for the creation of a tourism cluster in the Upper Povazie region are the determinants of firm strategy, structure, and rivalry in the region, related and supporting industries, and factor conditions. The results show that the examined determinant factors create conditions for the functioning of a potential cluster in the region at an average level.

The aim of the presented paper is to examine the specific situation in the institutional provision of tourism in Slovakia with special regard to the most important and in the crisis period the most vulnerable tourism regions, their identification is a partial goal of the paper. With regard to the current crisis period, the survey is supplemented by identifying factors of employment change, focusing mainly on the region's competitiveness in tourism. The importance of regions is assessed in the article on the basis of potential for tourism development, further in terms of their importance for tourism in Slovakia based on tourism performance expressed by the number of overnight stays and on the basis of industry concentration of tourism measured by employment in tourism. We consider the most vulnerable regions to be those that reach the level of specialization in tourism (based on the localization coefficient) and it has a growing tendency. The research results show that the importance of regional competitiveness in tourism for employment change (which is a regional component) is very different despite the established destination management, it is even negative, and in the case of positive figures, it is without an obvious advantage over other factors analyzed in the shift-share analysis. Also, it is possible that the current crisis period caused by measures in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic will help to find endogenous solutions to fragmented destination management in the most important and vulnerable tourism regions, or legislative solutions related to the amendment to the Tourism Promotion Act.

This paper aims to present the results of secondary and primary research focused on declared clusters of tourism in Slovakia and to draw conclusions of their influence on Slovak destinations. Subsequent progress could indicate whether declared clusters of tourism lead to competitiveness, innovation, research and growth or rather pursue those activities which are typical of destination management organisations.