engleski

POTENTIAL OF LIBRARIES AS TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: CASE STUDY OF CROATIA

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potentials of libraries as tourist attractions from the aspect of attractiveness of the buildings and from the aspect of the attractiveness of library collections. With this purpose the aim of the paper is to determine attitudes of libraries and tourist boards about the potential of library buildings and collections as tourist attractions. This work is based on the primary research of libraries and tourist boards in the county centres of the Republic of Croatia. Data collection was conducted using the non-representative convenience sampling method. The research instrument was a questionnaire with twelve close ended questions based on Likert five-point rating scale. The questionnaire was sent to 27 libraries and to 12 offices of tourist boards in Croatia. The questionnaire was answered by 19 libraries and 12 tourist boards, representing two types of samples – one made up of libraries, and the other of tourist boards. The results showed that libraries and tourist boards consider library buildings and collections as resources with great potential as tourist attractions and that they should be included in tourist offer. The findings of this paper provide a better understanding of the role of libraries with all their potentials (buildings and collections) as tourist attractions.

Library in tourism, Library building, Library collection, Library as tourist attraction, Croatia

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