Establishing the Importance of Events in Profiling Tourist Destination Development

The speed and intensity with which changes are taking place on the dynamic tourist market make it difficult to forecast future events. Changes in tourist behavior and challenges emerging from the environment are spurring new qualitative trends in destination development: the evolution of selective forms of tourism, the implementation of new forms of the tourist offer, and strategic shifts in tourism management focusing on ecology and sustainable development. Rethinking the destination’ s development strategy is focused on the importance of attraction determinants. By multiplying tourist satisfaction, events in the tourist destination are becoming key attraction factors and travel motivations. In response to increasingly demanding tourist preferences, Croatia and Opatija as a micro destination, however, have failed to sufficiently employ tourist events in prolonging the tourist season and attracting the more discerning tourists.