Anna Vaňová

Building Košice European Capital of Culture: Towards a Creative City?

This chapter aims to identify the most important success factors leading to the reinvention and development of Kosice as a creative city. The catalyst shifting Kosice from an industrial city to a modern creative twenty-first century city was the award of the title European Capital of Culture in 2013. Changes in its cultural infrastructure produced various events that created a new development impulse in the city’s cultural life. Implementation of project Interface, realisation of investment projects, organisation of hundreds of events and revitalisation of urban spaces and places began the overall transformation of the city, increasing its attractiveness for citizens, tourists, entrepreneurs and investors.

Nostalgic Sentiment And Cultural And Creative Industries In Regional Development: A Slovak Case Study

Abstract In Slovakia, there are three unique, historical mining towns, Banská Bystrica, Banská Štiavnica and Kremnica, that have been successfully turned into creative cultural centres. The historical and cultural values of those towns have stood the test of time and become a magnet for a new and creative class of people looking to escape the brutality of high modernity (modern urban centres) and find a source of inspiration based on historical nostalgic sentimentalism — the basis for a new creative and cultural industry for rural areas. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the cultural and creative industries of these three unique historical mining centres with an eye to replicating their knowledge in other communities in economic stress. The paper will first explore concepts relating to cultural and creative industries with an eye towards nostalgic sentimentalism that is an important antithesis to high modernity, and even post-modernity. The second part will analyse the cultural and creative industries of the three centres based on primary data collected from several research projects in this area. The final part will provide some recommendations for the facilitation of creative and cultural enterprises in regional redevelopment. It also contains policy recommendations for the self-government of the region for a more effective and rational exploitation of the existing potential hiding in plain view.

From Tourism Space to a Unique Tourism Place through a Conceptual Approach to Building a Competitive Advantage

Abstract The main aim of the chapter is to propose a conceptual approach for the creation, exploitation and building of a competitive advantage through which it would be possible to create a unique place from tourism space. In the chapter we present theoretical basement for the issue of competitive advantage at the level of places, its types, factors and approaches for its creating, building and exploiting. In the chapter we specify one main hypothesis and one research question. They are verified through several scientific, statistical and mathematical methods. These methods are used for the evaluation of primary and secondary research results. In the final part of the chapter, a conceptual approach for identification and exploitation of competitive advantage aimed at building unique and competitive places was proposed.

Modeling Innovation and Sustainability in Tourism via Competitive Advantage and Collaboration: Building Smart Tourism Destination on Olkhon Island in Baikal Lake

The main aim of the chapter is to define the process of identification, creation, building and exploitation of the local competitive advantage based on internal resources and cooperation of local private and public subjects, networking and participation via creation of unique tourism local production system and its influence on sustainability and ecological awareness. On the example of being a pioneer in developing a tourism industry in a hidden corner of the world without any tourism experience, this chapter tells an inspirational story of building a tourism destination from inauspicious beginnings, almost no trust and zero support from local, regional and national authorities through the slow building of a tourism industry until a sustainable, competitive and environmentally aware tourist destination of the twenty-first century.

Case 4: Communicating Town

The quality of information given to a public is strongly influenced by the way of communication between the local authority and public. On one hand, members of public are distinguished to passive receivers/observers but, on the other hand, may represent active citizens participating in public and social life.

Case 8: Relationship Marketing in the Local Authority

Relationship marketing is used mainly in the private sector and focuses on the customers. In the public sector, directly in the local government, it is applicable too, but it has own specifics. It is influenced by the structure of stakeholders, available marketing tools of local government, laws, the obligations of local government, the structure of the public administration and so on.