Tourism Destination Image Formation – The Case of Dubrovnik, Croatia

Competitiveness in the tourism industry has become increasingly demanding, implying competition not only among the countries in close geographic proximity but also among regions and even competition at the global level. A large number of existing and new destinations are competing for tourists in order to enhance their results, with destination image being one of the key sources of competitive advantage. When planning destination development, an emphasis must be placed on the formation of a positive image of the destination in the markets it targets in order to achieve a competitive edge over competing destinations. This paper analyzes the elements that in uence destination image. Research context is that of the city of Dubrovnik as a tourism destination. The objective of this research is to test a model of antecedents and consequences of a tourist destination’s image. Empirical research was conducted, using a survey on a sample of 355 randomly chosen tourists visiting Dubrovnik. Its results indicate scarce importance of image as a deciding factor in the creation of tourism policies for Dubrovnik as a particular tourism destination, which might have negative implications on the competitiveness of this destination in the long run. For this reason, the paper also shows the need for further and continuous research of the determining factors that could have an impact on the formation of a positive image of Dubrovnik as a tourism destination.