engleski

Impact of COVID-19 on the outlook for adventure tourism development

Purpose: Over the past 20 years (after the Homeland War) and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry in Croatia has developed under relatively stable market conditions and parallel with overall growth in international travels. Given the expansion of tourism supply and demand and the novel trends related to personal health, adventure tourism, a form of special- interest tourism, is experiencing rapid growth and development. Methodology: Based on qualitative research conducted on a group of experts in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and refering to the implications of global adventure-tourism trends for Krk Island, the guidelines in this paper are presented in response to the challenges of post-pandemic tourism development. Research was conducted based on three key dimensions. These are the customer dimension, the product dimension, and a dimension that is inescapable in adventure tourism – the risk dimension that encompasses uncertainty, new experiences, learning, being with others, and exploration. Results: The research results indicate that adventure tourism is perceived as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and as the response of tourist destinations to the growing and increasingly discerning preferences of tourists for actively spending more time outdoors. Conclusion: The conceptualisation of adventure tourism based on physical activities in the outdoors – ranging from soft adventure to hard adventure with risks and danger – is the basis for tourism offering innovation in the future.

adventure tourism ; COVID-19 ; tourist trends ; outlook for development

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