Croatia's nautical tourism – SWOT

(an analysis by PM 5 students 11/2012)

Strengths:

·  NATURAL FEATURES: natural beauty, clean sea, indented coastline, numerous islands, national parks, biodiversity, ecologically preserved marine environment and seabed

·  FAVOURABLE CLIMATE CHARACTERISTICS: favourable winds, no extreme temperatures, no extreme tides or tidal streams

·  NATURE + CLIMATE = safe navigation, good "experience for money"

·  Feeling of PERSONAL SAFETY

·  GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: vicinity of the main emissive markets

·  Good traffic infrastructure (coastal airports, highways, ferries)

·  MARITIME TRADITION: long tradition of boat building and boat maintenance, people familiar with sailing, sea and weather conditions

·  PEOPLE: friendly, qualified, speaking foreign languages

·  CULTURAL HERITAGE: material and non-material monuments protected by UNESCO

·  Market-oriented economy

·  CUISINE: local specialties (fish, sea food + vegetables and healthy dishes, smoked ham, cheese, wines)

Weaknesses:

·  Poor TRAFFIC INFRASTRUCTURE and inadequate connections (i.e. airlines, etc.)

·  Insufficient PORT INFRASTRUCTURE and CAPACITY: insufficient number of berths especially for large yachts.

·  LOW QUALITY of accommodation facilities

·  NON-DIVERSIFIED SERVICE & LACK OF ADDITIONAL SERVICES IN PORTS AND MARINAS: such as repairs & maintenance, recreation facilities (fitness, sauna, scuba diving, riding, trips...) kindergartens, entertainment facilities (events, workshops, night life...)

·  LACKING OR NON-DIVERSIFIED SERVICE = insufficient "value for money"

·  SHORT SEASON: June, July, August and September are considered as "season"; lack of service / experience / value out of the "season"

·  ADMINISTRATIVE OBSTACLES: complicated paperwork, too much time is required for granting concessions, obtaining any permits for building, etc.; inconsistency of legislation, inconsistency in implementing the law and in privatisation

·  POOR IMAGE: The image of a lower quality summer tourist destination and the image of a country from the war-torn Balkans.

·  IMPROPER WASTE MANAGEMENT: lack of awareness

·  LACK OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (higher education maritime schools, institutes and other associated institutions)

·  Lagging behind in terms of concepts and technology

·  Insufficient hospitality and charm

·  Lack of professional management

·  Lack of skilled staff

·  LACK OF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.

Opportunities:

·  Croatia is an INCREASINGLY POPULAR tourist destination

·  EU MEMBERSHIP: repositioning on the European market

·  creating NEW MARKETS

·  IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSPORT FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE; investing in roads and airports; extending and re-designing the existing marinas and ports; building new ones

·  DEVELOPMENT OF BOATBUILDING: the know-how, tradition and acquisition of new technologies make the local boat builders competitive in the national and international markets.

·  MAKING A DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF THE NAUTICAL TOURISM: development programs directed towards modern and ecological marinas; revitalization of small ports; creating jobs on the islands and preventing the brain drain

·  DIFFERENTIATION and qualitative improvement of the services

·  RE-DESIGNING THE IMAGE: development of brands (destinations, food, eco-tourism...)

·  investing in NEW FORMS OF TOURISM (sports, congress, health, "dental", hunting, diving tourism + combination with nautical tourism)

·  EXTENDING THE "SEASON" to at least 9 months

·  producing healthy food

Threats:

·  ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS: mass tourism, crowded ports, lack of awareness, urbanisation + overfishing = loss of habitats = loss of species; noise pollution, oil spills, black waters, alien species, forest fires

·  UNCONTROLLED DEVELOPMENT of nautical tourism due to the lack of strategy: concessions, occupation of the sea and the coastline.

·  CONFLICTS with other forms of tourism and resource users

·  Increasing REAL-ESTATE PRICE and more conflicts

·  POLITICS: Inadequate legislation, planning and other regulations; Possible lack of close cooperation at all political, administrative, economic and social levels; political instability in the region; terrorism

·  CONFLICTS + POOR POLITICS = PUTTING OFF THE INVESTORS

·  Loosing identity (abandoning traditional and less profitable activities, bowing to “trends”, using foreign brands…)

·  COMPETITION

·  DECREASE IN DEMAND: due to fluctuations of nautical preference, global crisis, decrease in purchasing power, demographic and overall economic development in Western Europe