ABSTRACT
The eruption of the sharing economy revolutionized tourism marketing around the world in less than ten years. Not only has it questioned the very foundations of tourism economics – such as notions of supply elasticity, rationale for state regulations, economies of scale and most importantly the role of intermediaries in distribution channels – but it has also posed new challenges for tourism marketing as many traditional enterprises (especially on the hospitality market) face new competitors and intermediaries. Those changes need also attention of destination marketers as the emergence of sharing economy changed almost all elements of marketing-mix. New accommodation facilities offered with new prices over new distribution channels certainly create new opportunities to reach existing and new targets with destination promotion under condition cooperation of destination marketers and new players in mutual interest. The aim of this chapter is to characterize the impact of sharing economy on tourism market with special emphasis on destination marketing. After an introduction the definitions of the sharing economy are discussed. Then issues of origins and actors participating in sharing economy are presented. Next the problems of the sharing economy’s impact on the destination market are studied. Finally, challenges for destination marketing are described.
