Tourist valorisation of cultural and historic resources in Osijek-Baranja County

Since the key to the success of Croatian tourism lies in the assessment and reconstruction of its comparative advantages, the aim of this paper is to indicate the presence of valuable cultural and historical resources of Osijek-Baranja county, and emphasize the importance of their tourism evaluation regarding the economic development. Desk research methods will be used for gathering information on the structure of eastern Croatia's tourism supply, the inductive-deductive method for explaning established insights and the case study method for Tvrda as an example of adequately valorised monument. Research results show that Osijek-Baranja county is an outstandingly rich region, regarding the availability and quality of resources, emphasizing the need for a sustainable evaluation of cultural heritage, given that existing attractions have an exceptional potential for expansion of tourism. Research results also point to potential benefits and harms of intensive use of resources and emphasize the need for balanced regional tourism development in the eastern Croatia. For further tourism development, it is necessary to orientate on tourism forms that explore specific local resources using principles of sustainable development. The object of study relies on eastern Croatia's micro-locations, perceived as resources valuable for cultural tourism development. The contribution is reflected in emphasizing the importance of conducting proper assessment of attractions and applying the results to similar regions. Previous secondary research show inadequate use of cultural and monumental heritage in Osijek-Baranja county. It is desirable to conduct new studies to redefine the using of these resources to enrich literature related to the mentioned topic. This research will help establish the presence of valuable resources for tourism development and demonstrate their role in the region's cultural identity. Regarding valorization of cultural heritage, the example of good practice could be repeated in other attractions.