Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.63.2.8
The role of cultural heritage in the communication and branding of Istria and Kvarner
Krešimir Dabo
orcid.org/0000-0001-9260-7384
; Institute for Migration Research, Department of Cultural and Island Studies, Zagreb, Croatia
Danijel Knežević
orcid.org/0000-0003-0422-4610
; Algebra Bernays University, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivana Schildenfeld
orcid.org/0000-0002-3183-7052
; Algebra Bernays University, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Cultural heritage is an extremely useful resource in the presentation and branding of certain
localities, especially tourist destinations. Considering that Croatia currently has ten immovable
and as many as 22 intangible cultural assets registered on various UNESCO lists, it is clear
that there is a strong communication foundation for creating the identity, image, and then the
brand of Croatia as a destination. Furthermore, if certain regions are considered as examples
of good practice, such as Istria and Kvarner, which together have seven assets registered on
UNESCO's lists, while many are registered in the national Register of Cultural Properties, the
question arises whether professionals in culture and tourism use these resources, that is, how
and in what way they implement them in the presentation of the destination, with the aim of
creating the image of their tourist areas. As a basis for further research on this topic, and with
the purpose of obtaining answers to these research questions, 22 semi-structured in-depth
interviews were conducted with representatives of heritage institutions in Istria and Kvarner,
representatives of culture and tourism offices, as well as representatives of tourist boards of
counties and the largest cities. The research showed that professionals in culture and tourism
use heritage themes as a resource in communicating with target audiences and that they see
heritage as extremely useful in creating a destination brand. However, they do not have a common
position on the most representative cultural assets, there is no clear strategy that would
define and frame communication themes and connect them to specific assets and/or ways
of presentation, there is no more intensive inter-institutional cooperation that would ensure
stronger joint communication activities, and there is no strategic management of relations with
the media and social networks, both at the institutional and local government levels.
Keywords
cultural heritage; destination branding; Istria; Kvarner; public relations in culture and tourism
Hrčak ID:
342539
URI
Publication date:
30.10.2025.
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