sustainability Article Customer Involvement in Sustainable Tourism Planning at Lake Balaton, Hungary—Analysis of the Consumer Preferences of the Active Cycling Tourists Katalin L˝orincz 1, Zsuzsanna Banász 2 and János Csapó 3,* 1 Department of Tourism, University of Pannonia, Egyetem str. 10, H-8200 Veszprém, Hungary;
[email protected] 2 Department of Quantitative Methods, University of Pannonia, Egyetem str. 10, H-8200 Veszprém, Hungary;
[email protected] 3 Institute of Marketing and Tourism, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Pécs, Rákóczi str. 80, H-7622 Pécs, Hungary * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 14 May 2020; Accepted: 21 June 2020; Published: 24 June 2020 Abstract: This study uses an innovative tourism product development approach, based on co-creation or customer involvement, related to Lake Balaton, a mass tourism-based destination in Hungary, from the point of view of the market segment of active cycling tourists. The investigation of opportunities for the development of cycling tourism first of all relies on the new approach of attraction and product development around the destination, in which it is important to take into consideration the consumer preferences of the most important related group of tourists—active cycling tourists. The sustainable approach of tourism product development also provides an opportunity to decrease the spatial and temporal concentration of tourism, which is largely concentrated on the summertime season. The aim of this study is to explore aspects of the customers’ demand for tourism development in terms of cycling tourism with the help of primary data collection, in order to provide adequate directions for sustainable tourism development in the destination.