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Abstract:
Croatia is a country of diverse natural and social resources valuable for tourism development. Although tourism resources are present throughout the country, the tourism development effects are not evenly distributed across its regions. Unlike the coastal region of Croatia, where tourism is highly developed, its continental region lags far behind in tourism development. The aim of this study was to analyze actual tourism development patterns in the continental part of Croatia and determine the prospects of its future development. A set of key tourism indicators for continental Croatia have been collected, analyzed and contrasted with the coastal region tourism performance. The next level of analysis was to ascertain the extent of the region's tourist product diversification in order to create a starting basis for the projection of possible future trends in tourism development. The preliminary empirical research in this study has provided valuable insights into the potentials of tourism development that can be exploited within the observed region in order to encourage socio-economic revitalization and reduce disparities between the coastal and the continental part of Croatia. Due to a growing demand and potential pitfalls of uncontrolled tourism development, the study points out the necessity of managing tourism development on the principles of sustainability, with special emphasis on its economic component. Among the main findings of the research is the conclusion that regional tourism offer needs to be developed as a set of integrated tourist products closely linked to major urban centers within the region.
Keywords: tourism, economic sustainability, integral regional tourist product, urban centers, continental Croatia
Introduction
Current state of tourism development in the continental part of Croatia can be assessed as modest compared to the overall tourism development in Croatia. As Croatia is a Mediterranean country, with a highly indented 6,278 km long coastline (CBS, 2013b, p. 40) that stretches along the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea, it is not surprising that tourism has become the primary economic force that drives the economy of the coastal region, thus enjoying substantial benefits from the valorization of natural, geopolitical and cultural heritage. In almost a century and a half long presence on the international tourism market Croatia has been building an image (almost exclusively) of the Mediterranean country, drawing attention to its...