THE ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT OF INNOVATION IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM SERVICES: THE CASE OF EUROPEAN CRUISE INDUSTRY IN DUBAI

Firms entering new markets face a difficult challenge: how to manage the innovation process to satisfy specific clients’ requests. In view of its geographical location and business friendly policies Dubai has become the gateway between East and West. Thus, European travel & tourism industry predicts business development. Prior research suggests that managers should consider religious factors to avoid strategic drift. In this paper we explore what kind of innovations should be introduced in travel service to comply with specific clients. We argue that after a long period of strategic and market analysis, the very affected conceptual step is "service development and market testing". Our arguments are supported by empirical analysis.