Informatologia, Vol. 48 No. 1-2, 2015.
Review article
TOURISM IN CROATIA: TRUTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS
Vlado Galičić
; Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Rijeka, Opatija, Croatia
Abstract
The way in which the professional community, the media and the political community in Croatia perceive the importance of tourism for the country’s overall economy differs, depending on the momentary particular interests of specific segments within these communities. Most often than not, the interpretation of achievements in tourism comes down to presenting physical-traffic data (number of tourist arrivals and overnights) and, with the exception of overall tourism-generated foreign exchange inflows, only rarely are attempts made to provide an analytical interpretation of the financial effects of tourism. Because of the lack of other positive economic effects, tourism is often unjustifiably and undeservingly placed in the focus of the public. Althoughtourism generates very small financial assets, its contribution to the GDP is fairly significant, and this fact only adds to creating an incomplete picture of the actual role and importance of tourism in the Croatian economy. The need to set that picture straight was the primary motivation behind research in this paper, which set outs, by analysing physical and financial indicators, to debunk misconceptions and establish the truths about the real characteristics of the tourism offering and the effects of tourist demand in Croatia. The paper proceeds from the hypothesis that tourism, with all its complementary effects on employment, the exportation of services, the food industry, traffic, and intermediation activities in hospitality and tourism, is indeed important for Croatia’s economy, but nowhere close to the level of importance attributed to tourism by media coverage.
Keywords
tourism; hospitality; tourism demand and supply; economy; human resources
Hrčak ID:
137738
URI
Publication date:
31.3.2015.
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