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Small and Family Hotels as a Factor of Sustainable Tourism Development in Croatia

One of the main barriers of achieving better business results of the accommodation industry in Croatia lies in the unfavourable structure of total accommodation capacities and the level of their quality. The offer is characterized by far too small share of hotel accommodation capacities (only 15% in 2012) and for too emphasized share of complementary accommodation capacities, with privately owned rooms and apartments being predominate (46% in 2012). Additionally, even the average size of the hotels in Croatia is far the biggest, compared with other European countries, which evidently does not contribute to tourism competitiveness. The most competitive tourism countries include the ones with the longest tradition in private entrepreneurship, which is in most cases developed within family businesses. In this paper the position and role of small and family hotels in Croatia are analysed. Also, the aim is to prove that this offer segment can be a basis for actual and sustainable development, which is a prerequisite of survival of tourism in Croatia. Modern tourists seek new, but also previously tested and innovative products and services which are being constantly developed according to the principles of sustainable tourism development. Small and family hotels can properly response to the needs of modern tourists. This can be achieved by developing new tourism product based on authentic experience, quality and hospitality (including local people and entrepreneurs), as well as the authentic atmosphere and rich cultural heritage. By fostering future development of this accommodation segment it can be expected that long-term competitiveness of the overall Croatian tourism product will be achieved.

small and family hotels; sustainable tourism development; business efficiency; competitiveness; Croatia

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