Nautical tourism in Croatia: current situation and outlook

Purpose – of the research is to present current situation of nautical tourism in Croatia and to indicate advantages, obstacles and threats of its future development. The objective is to find out the satisfaction of nautical tourists with services provided in Croatia. Results provided by qualitative and quantitative research methods prove the hypothesis that the management of nautical tourism is an important factor for its development and it can increase the competitive position amongst international competitors. Methodology – consists of descriptive method in order to describe current situation of nautical tourism while the comparative method presents trends of nautical tourism in Croatia. Qualitative research method is applied in the form of in-depth interviews. There is also quantitative research conducted by distributing surveys in ACI marinas and charter agencies in Croatia. Findings – indicate that considering the quality and infrastructure of marinas, Croatia is behind other competing tourism destinations in Mediterranean. More investment is required in creation of additional services, such as sport, hospitality and entertainment services in order to satisfy demands of nautical tourists and attract segment of higher spending power, looking for „greater value for money“, together with better service quality. In order to become competitive, Marinas should comprise specific set of services and well-designed infrastructure. Brand creation and positioning should be built for better promotion and recognition amongst tourists, to create awareness of unique attractions in Croatia. Strong nautical brand would differentiate nautical tourism in Croatia from the competitors. By building and offering contemporary and diverse services and amenities in existing marinas, nautical tourism would become high quality tourism product, more utilized amongst international and domestic nautical market which would benefit the economic and social development of Croatia. Contribution – of the paper findings are seen in better understanding of management in nautical tourism and problems to be addressed in order to improve nautical tourism as selective type of tourism in Croatia. The results of the scientific methods used in this research contribute to broaden scientific and applied knowledge and to form the solid ground for further improvement of nautical tourism from the perspective of satisfaction of guests and service quality. Natural resources and attractions significantly influence the development of nautical tourism and represent the vital element of tourism supply. Once the nautical tourism in Croatia reaches its maximum of power efficiency it will also play an important role in economic aspect of tourism development. The contribution of the research results emphasizes the role of government, the need to redefine confusing and non-efficient fiscal policies applied on charter companies and other service providers, influencing success of nautical tourism and charter agencies.