Božo Skoko

The influence of political factors in fashioning destination image

Political factors and tourism promotion can play an important role in the formation of national brand which substantially increases a nation’s competitive advantage. This is particularly true for newly formed transition countries, such as Croatia, that have gained independence and faced the imperative of creating a new national image. This chapter examines the influence of political factors and the role of tourism promotion in fashioning international image of Croatia. Tourism promotion played an important role in this process, and Croatian National Tourist Board is heavily relying on tourism attractions to position Croatia internationally. Therefore, other potential attributes of Croatian image are unknown even in the regional context. To substantiate these claims, this chapter presents some research results regarding Croatia’s image in 18 tourism generating markets.