The value of co-creation among destination stakeholders is becoming an increasingly popular tool for creating unique tourism products and preserving local cultural values and identity. The main purpose of this study was to investigate what factors determine residents’ satisfaction with the process of co-creating a traditional cultural event with a local destination management organization (DMO). To conduct a survey of residents, a questionnaire was developed that included four main concepts: satisfaction with the co-creation, the role of the DMO in the co-creation process, the importance of the event to local food and wine and personal attachment to the event. An explanatory Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Oblimin rotation was performed. The findings suggest that the DMO’s central role in the co-creation process and the importance of the event to a local food and wine are significant predictors of the residents’ satisfaction with co-creation. However, a personal attachment to the event did not prove to be a significant predictor of overall satisfaction with the co-creation process. By exploring, in detail, the inner thoughts of a destination’s key stakeholders, it is possible to improve the co-creation process and ultimately create greater value for all involved.

Purpose – The intent of this study was to compare the extent to which Croatia’s wellness tourism products are comparable to those in the leading wellness destinations in Europe. The purpose of this paper is to explore wellness experts' perception of possibilities and limitations of Croatia's convergence to contemporary wellness trends, to explore willingness and intention of service providers to improve their wellness tourism products, and to provide some policy recommendations that would bring Croatia's wellness destinations closer to benchmark wellness destinations in Europe. Methodology – This qualitative research is based on primary and secondary data collection. A desk research method was used to identify the key trends, select benchmark destinations, and to analyze Croatia’s wellness tourism offer. For primary data collection, a focus group was used to explore experts' perception on wellness tourism offer in Croatia and willingness and intention of wellness service providers to improve their offer according to global trends. Findings – The research proved that wellness is still an increasingly attractive tourism product, but also revealed large variations in its quality across Europe. Although Croatia’s wellness tourism offer suffers from mediocrity, absence of standards and vision of future development, it has significant potentials to become internationally competitive. Contribution – The main contribution of this research is four-fold: 1) provides overview of new market trends in wellness business, 2) enables insight into current state and ways of improvement of wellness tourism offer in Croatia, 3) discusses intention of wellness managers to improve wellness tourism offer, and 4) provides some policy recommendations to improve its convergence towards global standards and best practices.

The purpose of this conceptual study is to define the possibilities and constraints of assessing the economic impact of tangible cultural heritage on the economic sustainability of a tourism destination. To achieve this goal, the following were criti...

Svrha ovog istraživanja bila je analizirati motivaciju učenika srednjih strukovnih škola za upisom trogodišnjih ugostiteljskih odnosno četverogodišnjih turističkih zanimanja te saznati kakva su njihova predznanja i percepcija o struci u kojoj planiraju graditi svoju profesionalnu karijeru. Pored toga, željelo se istražiti i koliko učenika ima ozbiljne namjere ostati raditi u struci ili se nastaviti obrazovati u njoj, a koliko njih namjerava napustiti inicijalno odabranu struku. Cilj istraživanja bio je na temelju prethodno analiziranih trendova dobiti ključne informacije na temelju kojih unaprijediti promociju i osnažiti motivaciju učenika za upisom spomenutih zanimanja. U tu svrhu je sredinom 2022. godine provedeno empirijsko istraživanje na uzorku od 686 učenika prvih razreda iz 11 srednjih ugostiteljsko-turističkih škola iz svih krajeva Hrvatske. Analiza je pokazala da na tržištu rada u ugostiteljstvu i turizmu vlada velik deficit formalno obrazovanih i kompetentnih kadrova koji je praćen negativnim demografskim kretanjima u vidu smanjenog broja upisanih učenika u srednje škole, ali i sve slabijom motivacijom učenika za upisom zanimanja u području ugostiteljstva i turizma, osobito kada je riječ o trogodišnjim zanimanjima. Temeljem tih nalaza u radu se iznose smjernice i preporuke za unaprjeđenje promocije i statusa strukovnog obrazovanja u području ugostiteljstva i turizma u Hrvatskoj.

Purpose – The main purpose of this research was to analyze the position of vocational education in Croatia from the perspective of tourism high school teaching staff. The main objective was to propose state regulations to limit the access of non-professionals to specialized jobs in tourism, and to enhance the status of tourism vocational education. Methodology – Desk research was focused on the analysis of available body of knowledge related to tourism employment and tourism education. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data. The research sample included 104 tourism high school vocational teachers in Croatia. Descriptive statistics were used for data evaluation. Findings – Although Croatia heavily relies on the economic benefits from tourism, its performance is often diminished due to a labor market mismatch in terms of specialization, knowledge and skills. This research determined that Croatia has a well-established and prospective high school education system for tourism, but lacks of image among employers and young generations. The state market regulation of tourism employment and the improvement of 'dual education system' of tourism education were strongly supported by respondents. Contribution – The theoretical contribution of this research is to determine long-term gaps in matching tourism education outcomes and tourism employment practices. Empirical contribution is derived from the analysis of attitudes and perception of tourism high school teaching staff on how to improve tourism education and employment practice. Practical contribution is in providing empirically proved policy recommendations, while social contribution can be recognized in promoting tourism vocational education and professionalism to young generations.

This study focuses on the WRC Croatia Rally, currently the largest sporting event in Croatia. The purpose of this research was to assess spectators’ satisfaction with the event and their intention to revisit the event in the future. A total of 727 respondents participated in an online survey conducted in April 2024. The findings indicate that respondents were highly satisfied with the gen­eral appearance of the event, while the lowest-rated aspects were related to the sanitary facilities and the entertainment in the area. When evaluating the destination, respondents were satisfied with the friendliness of the hosts and the climate, while the main area of dissatisfaction was the price level. Importantly, most respondents expressed a strong intention to re-visit the event in the future. Overall, the research shows that visitor satisfaction is relatively high, though some areas could be improved to enhance the spectator’s overall experience