Many of the recent research studies in tourist behavior pointed to the fact that contemporary tourists, particularly millennials, are very prone to innovative experiences and enjoy co-creating the tourist experience. Technological advancements drive changes in the way tourists experience their vacation and have transferred power to the tourists in terms of decision-making. Scattered hotels bring back life into empty and abandoned homes in the old parts of the city. They boost the trickle-down effect on the local economy, contribute to the revival of villages and old parts of the town, preservation of the local culture and identity of the place, and minimization of negative social and ecological impacts of over-tourism. With the implementation of innovative technological solutions, customized to such particular accommodation establishments and the ecosystem of the tourist destination, this product would be able to modify the complete nature of the tourism experience. In this paper, the authors aim to explore how technology reinvigorates creativity and boosts destinations’ innovativeness and competitiveness by enriching the overall customer experience and by creating ecosystems in which tourism contributes to sustainable development. Technological advancements that can unlock innovation potential in scattered hotels are presented, as well as perceptions of tourism suppliers on personalized experiences, boosted with technological innovations. Factors hampering innovation are identified, as well as other important obstacles in delivering such services (financing, cooperation with other stakeholders, uncertain demand, etc.). From a possible functional angle, this study presents significant implications for small entrepreneurs – experience providers in horizontally developed accommodation structures, as well as destination managers and all levels of government.

As outlined in the National Tourism Development Strategy until 2030, Croatia aims to provide higher value, innovative, sustainable, and authentic tourist experiences. There is a need to examine how the main tourism stakeholders can contribute to the transformation of traditional and commodified tourism products into premium-class offerings that add value throughout the entire value chain. It is important for premium-class hotels to take additional steps in improving their offerings to positively impact the entire destination and enhance service quality. This paper aims to: explore initiatives for promoting innovation in premium-class experiences within destinations focusing the cooperation between on hotel companies and DMOs; identify anticipated trends influencing the future of the tourism industry, and assess the future prospects of premium-class hotels in Croatia. The methodology incorporated both quantitative and qualitative approaches, driven by the structured nature of the questions in the online survey that target sales and/or marketing directors of hotel companies that have premium-class hotels in their portfolio. Suitable statistical methods were employed to conduct the analysis for the quantitative portion of the data. Content analysis was utilized to analyze the open-ended questions. For this purpose, the MAXQDA software for coding, categorizing, and exploring patterns within the data. This study represents one of the pioneering investigations into the essential initiatives that hotel companies need to undertake in order to orchestrate the development of a destination that relies on its premium-class experiences. Furthermore, the study examines the role of supporting institutions such as destination management organizations (DMOs) in facilitating this process. A conceptual model to improve the development of the premium hotel segment and destination at the same time, pursued by the responsible practices and initiatives of the hotel companies and strong partnerships with DMO and the local community, is proposed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges for public museums in Croatia. This study examines how museum management and professionals have responded to the closure of museums during the pandemic by exploring digital initiatives and online engagement with remote audiences. The authors analysed data from 162 Croatian museums registered in the Museum Documentation Centre in Zagreb to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic and demographic indicators and museums’ digital activities using multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that half of the museums in the sample were active online, with social media being a commonly used platform. Interestingly, museums with a stronger online presence, lower regional unemployment rates, and a lower tourism development index were more likely to engage in activities during the pandemic. The authors conclude with recommendations for museum management and governance to embrace digital acceleration and adapt to the digital age. The study findings hold significant relevance for museums preparing for future pandemics or crises as they highlight the importance of digital initiatives and online presence in ensuring continued engagement with audiences during periods of closure. By leveraging digital tools and platforms, museums can overcome physical limitations and effectively reach remote audiences, thereby enhancing their resilience and adaptability in times of crisis. This study contributes to the understanding of museums’ digital transformation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provides valuable insights for museum practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers to shape future strategies. Further research could explore the long-term impacts of digital initiatives on museums’ sustainability and visitor engagement beyond the pandemic context.

Lack of confidence in businesses, lack of transparency and new demands from various interested and responsible stakeholders calls for the application of new leadership styles that encourage simpler, faster and effective implementation of socially responsible practices in the organization. There are many definitions of leadership as it means different things to different people. Leadership is about setting vision, empowering, inspiring and influencing people and reaching the set goals. Leadership is not a synonym for management. Corporate social responsibility requires finding the appropriate balance of economic, ecological and socio-cultural determinants in any organizational system. It is important to develop and nurture leadership style that leads to healthy implementation of socially responsible practices and promotes positive organizational culture. Poor leadership brings a plethora of negative consequences. Transformational leadership, with more supportive and responsive leaders, boosts the transition towards Corporate Social Responsibility 2.0 or the so-called systematic or radical corporate social responsibility - a concept introduced and investigated by Visser (2012). This article analyses, evaluates and discusses CSR 2.0 and presents perspectives of senior level managers (hotel managers) on the concept of CSR 2.0. Hotel managers from the biggest Croatian hotel companies were interviewed. Author elaborates the applied leadership style and the interrelatedness of CSR 2.0 with the transformational leadership that can be seen as Leadership 2.0. Author further argues the importance of transformational leadership for the effective implementation of CSR 2.0. A set of required leadership competences for adopting and successfully implementing and/or reaffirming corporate social responsibility 2.0 is presented. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility 2.0, Transformational leadership, tourism, Croatian hotel companies

Information about the paper titled "DEVELOPING AND MANAGING INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS IN A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION: THE CASE OF JURAJ DOBRILA UNIVERSITY OF PULA" at IATED Digital Library