engleski

Croatian tourism in the COVID-19 pandemic-current state and developmental perspectives

PURPOSE-Tourism and hospitality represent the most important and most developed industry globally, contributing to the destination's socio-economic development. The data from the UNWTO (n.d.) state that in 2019 tourism accounted for 7% of the global trade, and some countries can represent over 20% of their GDP, and overall, it is the third-largest export sector of the world economy. This industry faced numerous obstacles throughout the years, one of them being diverse forms of crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, which left tremendous marks on the tourism and hospitality business, which placed a struggling burden on destinations to rethink how to survive on the tourist market. Tourism contributes the most to the Croatian economy and is the most developed branch. According to the Tourist Board of Croatia (2020 according to the Croatian National Bank), tourism participated with 10.539, 1 million of EURO, respectively, with an estimate of 19, 5% in total Gross Domestic Product 2019. According to the enormous impact of the tourism industry on the Croatian national economy it is important to find a solution for the question: What will tourism be like after the pandemic, and how to adapt to it? The authors will analyse the current situation in the tourism industry in the Republic of Croatia in order to be able to recommend solutions for further development in the post-COVID-19 period. RESEARCH METHODS-Authors will use a content analysis approach to compare different strategic documents, touristic business reports and recent scientific works about the situation and consequences of the pandemic on the touristic value chain, and determine the pandemic's socio- economic consequences in tourism in the case of Croatia and the planned strategies for tourism recovery in the coming years. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION-In the short term, in 2021, when the pandemic is still ongoing and vaccination is taking place, travel can be expected to be shorter and more focused on the home country and nearby foreign regions, which were already important tourist markets before the pandemic. One of the important consequences of Covid-19 will be that it will accelerate the decline of mass tourism. The post-Covid-19 period will be characterised by an increase in demand for individual travel, while a decline on the demand side for group travel is expected. According to many forecasts, the importance of locally produced food should increase in the coming period. Presumably, Croatia should also perceive this as an advantage and offer a sustainably oriented, diverse range of local, domestic products. Food safety and proof of proper hygiene will, of course, play an essential role in this. Cooperation between producers and restaurateurs will also be crucial for the renewed growth and rise of Croatian gastronomy, as will much new creativity that draws from uniqueness and local roots, but freshly. It is also worth mentioning the importance of digitalisation and information and communication technology in tourism. IMPLICATIONS-The developmental guidelines presented in this paper will provide strategic managerial implications for professionals in tourism to focus on when discussing tourist offer development and survival on the tourist market. They will start adapting and reorganising their business following a strategic approach to sustainable solutions that will no longer be based on mass tourism but will be transformed into individual-centred services. Services will be focused on offering local, primarily cultural and natural assets. Their presentation will also have to be supported by modern technological solutions such as augment reality.

world tourism ; Croatian tourism ; COVID-19 pandemic ; developmental perspective

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