InnoCoast - Innovation in Coastal Tourism: Co-creating Competitive Experiences (InnoCoast)

Abstract:

Coastal tourist destinations in Denmark have experienced declining international tourism demand for more than a decade and coastal tourism actors are challenged to adapt to a rapidly transforming and highly competitive market. This innovation defectiveness is rooted in an industrial structure characterized by sparsely located and loosely connected entrepreneurs detached from knowledge flows and market intelligence. Acknowledging the strategic priorities for Danish coastal tourism, this project (InnoCoast) will generate research-based knowledge for experience innovations to ensure firm-level development in three particular domains, namely nature, culture and food tourism. InnoCoast adopts a comprehensive approach to innovation (innovation ecologies) focusing on how tourist experiences are co-created in the interplay between tourists, providers, and governing bodies. Innovative knowledge, specific solutions and strategic instruments will be identified, regarding: • New business models, networks and suggestions of experience designs to benefit the development of nature, culture and food tourism and the reduction of seasonality effects • Strategic directions to enter the sharing economy with collaborative and peer-to-peer entrepreneurial solutions adapted to coastal contexts • Governance innovations entailing coordinated, intersectoral regulatory interventions for the coastal tourism context By reinvigorating public-private-research collaboration, InnoCoast will enable the formation of intersectoral value creating clusters, diversify entrepreneurial offerings and consolidate local and digitally facilitated innovation ecologies.