Conceptualization of Religious Tourism in the Republic of Croatia

Dijana Vuković – University of North, Jurja Krizaniéa 31b 42 000 Varazdin, Croatia

Neven Šipić – Zagreb Business School, Ulica gr. Vukovara 68, Zagreb, Croatia

Fani Kerum – University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, Campus 1, A-7000 Eisenstadt, Austria

Abstract: Purpose. Religious tourism requires a special approach to developing a tourist destination to meet the specific needs of believers and create a sustainable tourist community. Quality religious tourism should offer relevant and fulfilling content so that visitors can gain a deeper understanding of religious aspects and feel a connection with the spiritual, traditional, and cultural dimensions of the destination they are visiting. Results. The lack of cooperation between tourist workers and religious institutions, represents a big problem since it makes it impossible to optimal and coordinate the creation of a tourist product, and the conceptualization of religious tourism. Absence of quality specialized and themed ones. Because religious tourism in Croatia is so popular, there is an issue with its content. There is a single, widely recognized mold in which the content is created, but it would undoubtedly need to be modified because, in addition to the elderly, young people are becoming more and more interested in religious tourism; as a result, new content tailored to their age groups should be offered to them. Conclusion. Strengthening cooperation with the local tourist community and strengthening promotion are key steps in the development of religious tourism. Establishing a joint strategy of the local and religious community and making investments are necessary for its further growth.

10th International Scientific Conference ERAZ 2024 – Conference Proceedings: KNOWLEDGE BASED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT,  hybrid – online, virtually and in person, Lisbon, Portugal, June 6, 2024

ERAZ Conference Proceedings published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans – Belgrade, Serbia

ERAZ conference partners: Faculty of Logistics, University of Maribor, Maribor (Slovenia); University of National and World Economy – UNWE, Sofia (Bulgaria); Center for Political Research and Documentation (KEPET), Research Laboratory of the Department of Political Science of University of Crete (Greece); Institute of Public Finance – Zagreb (Croatia); Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Ohrid, University of St. Kliment Ohridski from Bitola (North Macedonia)

ERAZ Conference 2024 Conference Proceedings: ISBN 978-86-80194-86-8, ISSN 2683-5568,

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ERAZ.2024

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission. 

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