engleski

Relation between Media and Tourism – Example of Croatia as a Tourist Destination

This paper is an analysis of promotional activities and media used in the tourist promotion of Croatia. It provides research and analysis of different media as sources of information for tourists selecting a destination. Research was done on the sample of student population (regular and parttime students of VERN' University of Applied Science). One of the goals was to determine how much media influence the sensibility and development of a consumer's consciousness in the process of choosing the tourist destination. Another goal was to find out if and how much media influence the expression of specific beliefs, collective consciousness and relations within the tourist destination itself. This paper gives in inside into the amount in which media influence beliefs and opinions of the tourist activities’ stakeholders, unify the tastes and manipulate the masses with the goal of globalization and materialistic consumption. The third goal was to determine if it is possible, by using complex data processing and data analysis methods, to determine the level of manipulation in managing of tastes and trends in tourism, and to forecast the connection between the levels of development of a tourist destination and development of the media. Information from scientific and professional books and journals, publications, internet and other media, as well as results of past research was collected using the desk research method. Different data collection methods (own research, questionnaires, interviews, secondary data) and their analysis was used to make concrete conclusions about general trends in the media which student population uses when getting information about the tourist offer and planning of their travel. Contribution of this paper is introduction of a possibility that tourist destination of the future, through the synergy of DMO-s and DMC-s, and with the help and collaboration with the media, can transform its customers/ tourists into active participants, capable of building bridges between the real and the virtual world. The influence of the media and its narrative concept could help in development and differentiation of tourist destinations. Implications for future research could be found in the new forms of economies, such as the experience economy and in the new forms of the so-called affective economies, which offer the ways to stimulate within the area of tourism, especially within tourist destinations. What should be further researched is the transformation of brands into the so-called lovemakers. This could make the division between the facilities, amenities and activities that are offered at a destination softer, as well as branded (the guest becomes a co-creator).

Tourism, Mass media, Promotional activities, Tourist destination, Narrative concept

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