Tourist attitudes towards the cultural tourism offer of continental Croatia

Authors

  • Danijel Drpić Libertas International University, Zagreb, Croatia
  • Goran Perić Toplica Academy of Applied Studies, Department of Business Studies Blace, Serbia
  • Danijel Vučenović Independent researcher, Zadar, Croatia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71159/icemit2539D

Keywords:

heritage, cultural tourism, continental Croatia, competitiveness of tourist offer, tourist demand

Abstract

Today's tourist demand, although heterogeneous, tends to get to know new and previously undiscovered elements of the offer. Tourists are looking for authentic experiences provided by heritage elements embedded in the tourist offer. Heritage as part of the modern tourist offer of each destination enables the creation of a strong connection between tourists and the local community. It is the basis for creating a unique tourist offer and increasing the competitive advantage and preserving the uniqueness of the destination in the tourist market. The purpose of the paper is to determine the current state of development of cultural tourism in continental Croatia. The methodology of the paper is based on the analysis of published scientific and professional papers in the field of cultural tourism, and the TOMAS study of attitudes and consumption in Croatia for 2019 and 2022/2023. Based on the findings, development guidelines and a model for promoting the heritage of continental Croatia will be offered.

References

Alén, E., Losada, N., & de Carlos, P. (2017). Profiling the segments of senior tourists through motivation and travel characteristics. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(14). https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2015.1007927

Bartoluci, M., Hendija, Z., & Petračić, M. (2015). Possibilities of sustainable development of rural tourism in continental Croatia. Acta Turistica, 27(2), 191–219.

Beck, R. C. (2003). Motivacija: Teorija i načela. Slap.

Božić, S., Kennell, J., Vujičić, M. D., & Jovanović, T. (2017). Urban tourist motivations: Why visit Ljubljana? International Journal of Tourism Cities, 3(4), 382–398. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-03-2017-0012

Chen, J. S., Huang, Y. C., & Cheng, J. S. (2009). Vacation lifestyle and travel behaviors. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 26(5–6), 494–506. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548400903163038

Cerović, Z. (2008). Animacija u turizmu. Fakultet za menadžment u turizmu i ugostiteljstvu.

del Bosque, I. R., & San Martín, H. (2008). Tourist satisfaction: A cognitive-affective model. Annals of Tourism Research, 35(2), 551–573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2008.02.006

Dredge, D., et al. (2019). Digitalisation in tourism: In-depth analysis of challenges and opportunities. https://ehrl.ee/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Digitalisation-in-Tourism-Report-2018.pdf

Drpić, D., & Rudan, E. (2019). Event competitiveness in heritage tourism in rural Croatia. Academica Turistica, 12(2), 161–172. https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.12.161-172

Drpić, D., Milenkovska Klimoska, A., & Milojica, V. (2018). Heritage as a factor of achieving competitive cultural tourism offer of the Republic of Croatia. In Proceedings of ICESOS’18 (pp. 253–264).

Dryglas, D., & Salamaga, M. (2017). Applying destination attribute segmentation to health tourists: A case study of Polish spa resorts. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(4), 503–514. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2016.1193102

Duda, T. (2023). More regionality than globality: New trends and challenges of contemporary cultural tourism. European Research Studies Journal, 26(4), 27–34.

D’Urso, P., De Giovanni, L., Disegna, M., & Massari, R. (2013). Bagged clustering and its application to tourism market segmentation. Expert Systems with Applications, 40(12), 4944–4956. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2013.03.005

Golja, T., & Lekić, R. (2020). Destinacijski menadžment u funkciji razvoja kulturnog turizma kontinentalne Hrvatske – primjer destinacije Križevci. Studia Polensia, 9(1), 103–141. https://doi.org/10.32728/studpol/2020.09.01.06

González-Reverté, F. (2019). Building sustainable smart destinations: An approach based on the development of Spanish smart tourism plans. Sustainability, 11, 6874. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236874

Gundersen, M. G., Heide, M., & Olsson, U. H. (1996). Hotel guest satisfaction among business travelers: What are the important factors? Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 37(2), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/001088049603700222

Hristov, D. (2015). Tourism versus the visitor economy and the shifting landscape of destination management. Tourismos, 10(1), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.26215/tourismos.v10i1.435

Hritz, N. M., Sidman, C. L., & D’Abundo, M. (2014). Segmenting the college-educated generation Y health and wellness traveler. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 31(1), 132–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2014.861727

Institut za turizam. (2020). Stavovi i potrošnja turista u Hrvatskoj: TOMAS Hrvatska 2019.

Institut za turizam. (2023). Stavovi i potrošnja turista u Hrvatskoj: TOMAS Hrvatska 2022/2023.

Jelinčić, D. A. (2008). Cultural tourism in Croatia and some European countries: Recommendations for sustainable development. Croatian International Relations Review, 16(50/51), 11–15.

Jelinčić, D. A. (2010). Kultura u izlogu: Kratki vodič za upravljanje kulturnim dobrima. Meandarmedia.

Krajnović, A., Raguž, I., & Gortan-Carlin, I. (2020). Strategic management and demarketing in UNESCO WHSs. Bulletin of Geography: Socio-economic Series, 48, 113–128. https://doi.org/10.2478/bog-2020-0016

Mathis, E. F., Kim, H. L., Uysal, M., Sirgy, J. M., & Prebensen, N. K. (2016). The effect of co-creation experience on outcome variables. Annals of Tourism Research, 57, 62–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.11.023

Menor-Campos, A., Fuentes Jiménez, P. A., Romero-Montoya, M. E., & López-Guzmán, T. (2020). Segmentation and sociodemographic profile of heritage tourists. Tourism and Hospitality Management, 26(1), 115–132. https://doi.org/10.20867/thm.26.1.7

Milohnić, I., & Drpić, D. (2022). Interrelations between the quality of facilities and visitor satisfaction. In RED 2022 Proceedings (pp. 504–518).

Pasca, M. G., Renzi, M. F., Di Pietro, L., & Guglielmetti Mugion, R. (2021). Gamification in tourism and hospitality research. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 31(5), 691–737. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-05-2020-0094

Pesonen, J. A. (2014). Testing segment stability: Insights from a rural tourism study. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 31(6), 697–711. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2014.884965

Pesonen, J., Komppula, R., Kronenberg, C., & Peters, M. (2011). Understanding the relationship between push and pull motivations. Tourism Review, 66(3), 32–49. https://doi.org/10.1108/1660537111117531

Petrić, L. (2006). Izazovi razvoja ruralnog turizma. Acta Turistica, 8(2), 138–170.

Rudan, E., Zadel, Z., & Agbaba, R. (2025). Tourism and sustainable development in the Croatia–Slovenia cross-border rural area. Sustainability, 17(24), 11345. https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411345

Ružić, P. (2009). Ruralni turizam. Institut za poljoprivredu i turizam.

Seebaluck, N. V., Munhurrun, P. R., Naidoo, P., & Rughoonauth, P. (2015). Push and pull motives for choosing Mauritius. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 175, 201–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.1192

Solomon, M. R., Bamossy, G., Askegaard, S., & Hogg, M. K. (2015). Ponašanje potrošača: Europska slika (4th ed.). Mate.

Stylidis, D., Sit, J., & Biran, A. (2018). Residents’ place image. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(6), 715–725. https://doi.org/10.1080/10548408.2018.1425176

Tilden, F. (1957). Interpreting our heritage. University of North Carolina Press.

UN Tourism. (2025). International tourism up 5% in first half of 2025. https://www.untourism.int/news/international-tourism-up-5-in-first-half-of-2025-despite-global-challenges

Vlada Republike Hrvatske. (2022). Strategija razvoja održivog turizma do 2030. https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/full/2023_01_2_18.html

World Tourism Organization. (2019). UNWTO guidelines for institutional strengthening of DMOs. https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284420841

Yoon, Y., & Uysal, M. (2005). Effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty. Tourism Management, 26(1), 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2003.08.016

Zeithaml, V. A., & Bitner, M. J. (2003). Services marketing: Integrated customer focus across the firm (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Downloads

Published

2025-12-29

How to Cite

Drpić, D., Perić, G., & Vučenović, D. (2025). Tourist attitudes towards the cultural tourism offer of continental Croatia. International Scientific Conference on Economics, Management and Information Technologies, 2(1), 341–350. https://doi.org/10.71159/icemit2539D

Most read articles by the same author(s)