Geoadria, Vol. 30 No. 1, 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15291/geoadria.4438
Characteristics and motivational patterns of tourist trips to the Croatian region Gorska Hrvatska
Ivana Žafran
orcid.org/0009-0005-8255-7498
; Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes (AMPEU), Zagreb, Croatia
*
Vuk Tvrtko Opačić
orcid.org/0000-0001-9483-3609
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Zagreb, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Despite its attractiveness and potential for tourism valorisation, Gorska Hrvatska (Mountainous Croatia) is currently one of the less-developed tourist regions in Croatia, making it necessary to work towards the better promotion and visibility of the region's tourism supply and attracting potential tourists. A prerequisite for high-quality and sustainable management of further tourism development is understanding the motivational patterns and characteristics of targeted consumer segments to create effective tourism development strategies for the region. Therefore, the main research objective is to identify the general characteristics of tourist trips and motivational patterns of tourists visiting Gorska Hrvatska, to determine visitor profiles but also to further profile the tourist region and its main tourist destinations. Additionally, specific objectives include exploring the differences between the three analysed destinations – the municipality of Fužine, the town of Otočac, and the municipality of Rakovica, as well as the link between the specific motivation of tourists for visiting Gorska Hrvatska and their general travel preferences. The stated objectives were achieved through a direct survey conducted in the three above-mentioned local self-government units, selected as case studies. In addition to descriptive statistics, the one-way ANOVA and the Pearson’s correlation coefficient were used to analyse the data collected. The results confirmed that natural heritage is a key motivating factor attracting tourists to Gorska Hrvatska. In addition to a strong inclination towards natural heritage and leisure, tourists generally share similar preferences regarding characteristics of tourist trips and other motivating factors for visiting the region. Consequently, it is concluded that stronger profiling of tourist destinations has not yet occurred, as illustrated by three case studies that ultimately share more similarities than differences. Nevertheless, the analysis indicates some specific differences between them, which, although not significant, suggest the possible existence of certain tourist subtypes in the region that should be further examined.
Keywords
tourist motivation; tourist trip; tourism supply; Gorska Hrvatska
Hrčak ID:
331816
URI
Publication date:
30.8.2025.
Visits: 700 *