engleski

The Importance of Sports in the Tourist Supply : The Case of Dubrovnik

Definitely, modern tourists want and look for an active holiday, in order to properly recharge themselves and to successfully survive in their own domicile, where they have to contend with the daily struggles, stresses, and the worries that everyday life brings. Tourists are increasingly less tied to the buildings where they reside, and they prefer activity that offers good entertainment that is accompanied by interesting and healthy recreation, or physical activities. As a result, the tourist supply is already largely geared towards an active holiday, especially through various forms of recreational sports-entertainment activities. This kind of demand stems from the fact that physical activity has become an acute need for the modern man, a philosophy of life, and a way of living. Therefore, the fact that there is a visible increase in the demand for recreational sports events comes as no surprise. Sport is highly ranked as a motive for travel and arrival in a destination that can offer such services. Many Mediterranean countries have already noticed the importance of developing alternative forms of tourism, and the significant benefits to be had. As such, sport is a vitally important part of the tourist supply and an important factor in filling accommodation capacities in periods outside the main tourist season. These countries enrich their tourist supply with various, special and original sporting events that entertain the tourist and offer recreation, thereby turning tourists into active participants of such sporting events. Of course, this should be true of Dubrovnik. However, sporting programs are not being included either quickly or adequately enough in the tourist supply of Dubrovnik, in spite of its being a specific tourist region. There is no adequate sporting infrastructure, and this definitely affects the quality of the overall tourist product. Numerous sports-oriented tourists bypass this otherwise historical and naturally attractive destination, as there is a lack of excellent recreational sports programs, or their supply. The absence of an athletic tourist supply is very pronounced in the off-season, when certain sports programs could contribute towards extending the tourist season and the better use of accommodation capacities. This paper will portray the results of a scientific survey on the satisfaction levels of tourists coming to Dubrovnik with regard to the sports supply, the role of sports as a motive in coming, the inadequacies in this segment of the supply, tourist suggestions, and many other intriguing questions tied to sports - tourism in the tourist supply of the Dubrovnik region.

sports and tourism; sports and tourism in Dubrovnik; supply of sporting activities; active holiday; physical activity; recreation.

Publication of the AIEST ; vol. 45