Stakeholders’ View on Tourism Performance Using Integrated Quality Management: The Case of Međimurje Tourism Destination, Croatia

Integrated Quality Management (IQM) of a tourist destination can be defined as an ongoing process of improving tourist satisfaction while simultaneously improving the quality of life of the local community, ensuring the competitiveness of the local economy, and preserving the natural and cultural environment in accordance with the principles of sustainable tourism development. Međimurje is one of the most recognised inland tourism destinations in Croatia that implemented IQM. The purpose of this chapter is to investigate stakeholders’ views of Međimurje within a broader scope of the destination's resilience and the IQM strategy for measuring tourism performance. It explores the relationship between stakeholder value co-creation and the level of satisfaction in Međimurje using the social dimension of resilience indicators. Three hypotheses were developed. The research methodology includes a structured questionnaire measuring the satisfaction of local tourism suppliers, local residents and tourists. Differences between groups were analysed using non-parametric chi-square test to conduct hypothesis testing. It is concluded that all three hypotheses were confirmed. The statistical analysis confirmed that Međimurje is perceived by all key stakeholders as a resilient tourism destination. This chapter contributes to the tourism literature by applying some of the principles of service-dominant logic and testing the relevance of key stakeholders’ value co-creation and their satisfaction levels.