engleski

The Contribution of Small and Family Hotels for Creating a New Identity of a Tourism Destination: The Case of Croatia

Creating an identity of a tourism destination is a rather demanding and time-consuming process. Therefore, the relationship between a tourism destination, but also tourism in general, and identity is extremely important. It depends on numeros factors, such as the uniqueness and diversity of destinations, natural resources, local community and enterpreneurs, but also on tourists who are in the constant search for something new and unique. Tourism policy in Croatia has set an objective to transform Croatia into a high- value tourism destination of a lifestyle, experience and emotion. Therefore, when creating a new identity, all stakeholders should be guided primarily with quality of services at all levels regarding tourism destination. The structure of accommodation in Croatia represents a limiting factor int he process of creating a new identity of a destination. Large hotels, which were built to meet the needs of the mass tourism market, dominate in the accommodation structure. Also, there is a significant share of private accommodation characterized by insufficient quality of services. This paper will analyze the position and role of small and family hotels within the total accommodation offer in Croatia. Their impact on other important factors in creating an identity will also be examined. With the aim of conducting a critical analysis of the current knowledge about creating an identity in tourism, the method of a case study and comparative method will be used. After a long time, small and family hotels in Croatia, are creating a new tourism product based on the authentic experience, quality and hospitality. They are corresponding to the modern tourism trends of a tourism demand. Intensive development of this accommodation segment greatly contributes to redefining an image of Croatia as a tourism destination and competitive position of Croatian tourism in the future.

identity; small and family hotels; tourism destination; Croatia

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