Innovation capacity in cultural-historical destination product development : The case of Malta and Tallinn

Abstract

This study deals with innovation capacity in cultural-historical destination product development in two destinations: the island of Malta and Estonia's capital city, Tallinn. Thus, this study seeks to assess the capacity of Malta and Tallinn to innovate their destination as a product in the cultural-historical niche. It attempts to explore the attitude and aptitude of the relevant actors in the Maltese and Estonian tourism sectors to work on continuous product innovation in the destination's cultural-historical niche, the factors influencing their innovation capability in enhancing and developing the cultural-historical destination as a product, and the contextual factors such as strategic marketing and national strategies. The organisations from both destinations chosen for the study represent a comprehensive sample consisting of the most relevant entities involved in the cultural-historical destination segment. The method utilised to gain insight into the perceptions, opinions, and knowledge of the research participants is semi-structured interviewing. The results suggest that all organisations under study appreciate product development and innovation in the cultural-historical destination segment. However, not all of them have advanced organisational practices conducive to innovation and thus, capacity to work on continuous product development in their field. The Tallinn private sector, the Maltese historic house museums, and the event organising group have demonstrated the strongest innovation capacity from all the organisritions under study. Nevertheless, the Maltese and Tallinn's public sector and Tallinn's museums have the basic features required to enhance their innovation capacity and through that to contribute to the higher innovation capacity of the whole destination.