Research Note
Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism
in Rural Croatia
Danijel Drpić
Polytechnic of Rijeka, Croatia
ddrpic@veleri.hr
Elena Rudan
Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija, Croatia
elenar@fthm.hr
In recent few years, Croatia’s rural areas have been developing various forms of
tourism, primarily focused on heritage. Sustainablemanagement of the rich cultural
and historical heritage of Croatian rural areas can stimulate the creation of market
recognition and competitiveness. Among the critical elements of heritage tourism
are the events stemming from the community and its traditions, andwhich represent
that community on the tourism market. Heritage-based events enable the creation
of a unique tourism product that, through heritage elements, enables the promo-
tion of Croatian rural destinations, respecting their characteristics and uniqueness.
Tourism events and programs provide a successful interpretation of heritage ele-
ments, strengthening local identity and creating positive interrelationships between
visitors and hosts. This paper aims to explore and propose possibilities for innova-
tion of heritage-based events in rural areas of Croatia, with analysis of an event held
in Ðakovo: the Ðakovo Embroidery Festival. In order to facilitate the competitive-
ness of Croatian heritage-based cultural events, the paper proposes an event certi-
fication model: the CroRuralisHeritage Awards Certification Model. The paper also
provides guidelines for the creation of heritage-based tourism events as a vital ele-
ment in the realisation of innovative and sustainable tourism services to achieve the
competitiveness of rural Croatian tourism.
Keywords: heritage, events, sustainable development, rural tourism, Croatia,
Ðakovo Embroidery
https://doi.org/10.26493/2335-4194.12.161-172
Introduction
Rural areas have many distinctive features that distin-
guish them from other, primarily coastal and urban,
tourist destinations and that are reflected in their focus
on agriculture, unique cultural and historical heritage
and the specificity of gastronomic and oenological of-
ferings. In recent decades, rural areas have become in-
creasingly interesting tourist destinations, not only in
Croatia but also throughout Europe. According to Eu-
rostat data (2017a), rural areas in Croatia occupy 79.1
of the total territory, with 45.9 of its population. Ac-
cording to Demonja (2014), the rural area in Croatia
is determined by the territorial division according to
which small administrative units, municipalities, are
considered as rural areas and cities as urban ones. This
paper explores rural areas of the mainland of Croatia.
In considering tourism development, it is neces-
sary to enable the rural areas to evaluate and protect
Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019 | 161
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
tangible and intangible heritage and achieve dynamic
economic development. Local community values need
to be managed sustainably, without disturbing the ex-
isting resource base of the rural area and ensuring
economic and social benefits for all destination stake-
holders (Daniloska & Hadzi Naumova-Mihajlovska,
2015). As an essential stakeholder, the local popula-
tion is generally more prone to tourism development
based on authentic culture, since it is not something
unknown, but rather part of their identity of which
they are, in principle, proud.Of course, sustainable de-
velopment principles must be considered, and exces-
sive and unprofessional refinement of culture must be
avoided (Sedmak, Planinc, Kociper & Planinc, 2015).
Due to the development of modern information tech-
nologies, new guidelines in tourism development con-
siderations and the growing interest of tourists in tra-
ditions, particular forms of events offered by rural ar-
eas are becoming tourists’ interest and motivation for
travelling. In such new and contemporary conditions
of tourism development, it is necessary to enable the
creation of value-added offers, while preserving the
originality of heritage elements as the basis for creat-
ing competitive tourism services in rural areas.
Characteristics of Contemporary Tourism Demand
in Croatian Rural Tourism
Knowledge of the socio-demographic structure of vis-
itors, their motives and habits are the basis for achiev-
ing the competitiveness of rural tourism destinations
(Getz, 2010; Krajičkova & Šauer, 2018). According
to the United Nations World Tourism Organization
(unwto), Europe was the most visited region in the
world in 2016, accounting for about half (49.8) of
the 1.24 billion arrivals of international tourists. The
richness of European cultures, the diversity of its land-
scapes, and the quality of tourism infrastructure are
probably the essential reasons why tourists will visit
Europe in the future. Considering tourist traffic inten-
sity in rural areas, Eurostat (2017b) indicators show
that there are more nights spent in accommodation
facilities in rural areas than in urban centres of the Eu-
ropean Union (European Commission, 2017). Based
on these assumptions, rural tourismmanagement can
successfully create a recognisable tourism product
with significant added value. Added value for stake-
holders ismanifested in the numerous benefits of rural
tourism development (economic, socio-demographic
benefits, greater recognition, strengthening of self-
awareness and identity) and in ensuring a permanent
and sustainable rural development.
The existing tourism demand and supply in Croat-
ian rural areas are not at a satisfactory level. Although
the total number of tourists and overnight stays in
the whole country is rising, rural areas do not show
such intensity of growth and development. In 2016,
there were 15,454,000 guests who realized 77,919,000
overnight stays; 2017 recorded a growth in tourism
demand, with 17,430,000 arrivals, which is 12.8more
than 2016 and 86,200,000 overnight stays or 10.6
more than in 2016. Looking at Croatia through its
three regions (Adriatic, continental and theCity of Za-
greb and Zagreb County), it can be said that the Adri-
atic part realized 14,399,000 arrivals (82.61 of the
total number) and 79,305,000 overnight stays (92 of
the total); Zagreb County had 1,373,000 visitors (7.88
of the total number) and 2,413,000 overnight stays
(2.8 of the total) and continental Croatia 1,658,000
visitors (9.51 of the total) and 4,482,000 overnight
stays (5.20 of total) (Ministry of Tourism, 2018).
Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Syrmia are eco-
nomically less developed areas; they are largely emi-
grated from, and agricultural activity, once the leading
economic activity in this region, faces serious prob-
lems due to various subjective and objective difficul-
ties. The development of tourism in the area would
enable the preservation and development of agricul-
ture, preservation of tradition and local identity, as
well as the creation of a new basis for economic and
social revival. The stated can be achieved by incor-
porating heritage into the tourism product in differ-
ent ways (including events) that would preserve the
original heritage value and create new economic ben-
efits. Since we are considering the rural areas of the
Republic of Croatia, it is necessary to determine the
competitive abilities of rural destinations.
Competitiveness of Rural Tourism Destinations
Although rural areas represent an abundant source of
heritage elements and a rich resource base for the cre-
162 | Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
ation of tourismofferings, they are unfortunately often
not recognised as a valuable potential for tourismoffer.
Farming, crafts, traditional crafts, gastro-oenological
offer, churches, traditional buildings and other ele-
ments form a set of heritage motifs that need to be
uniquely presented on the tourism market, without
disturbing their originality and distinctiveness. This is
possible through tourism events. According to Svržn-
jak, Kasntar, Jerčinović, and Kamenjak (2014), rural
tourism is a collective name for the activities and
forms of tourism that develop in rural areas and is
determined by the natural and cultural resources that
are found there. ‘Rural tourism’ is a very broad term
that signifies every tourist activity within a rural area,
encompassing various forms of tourism (rural, eco-
tourism, cultural, rural household tourism, events,
etc.).
Similarly, Kušen (2006) mentions that rural tour-
ism is a complex type of tourism composed of dif-
ferent types of tourism and is defined by the features
and boundaries of rural areas in which it develops.
Dashper (2014) also points to the importance of ru-
ral tourism for rural areas, stating that rural tourism
offers a possible solution to some of the problems asso-
ciated with lost economic opportunities and popula-
tion decline that accompany thewaning of agriculture.
Many governments and regional authorities have em-
braced rural tourism as an opportunity to bring new
money into rural regions, stimulating growth, provid-
ing employment opportunities and thus beginning to
halt rural decline (Smolčić Jurdana, 2015). In Croatia,
rural tourism and the related activities started to be
taken seriously as late as 1996, with the adoption of
the Regulation on the provision of catering services in
rural households, thus establishing a legal framework
for action within the new tourism sector. This was ten
years after the European Council had recognised ru-
ral tourism as a new form of tourism service that took
place in rural areas. The first tourism-oriented rural
households were registered in 1998, when there were
32 (Ružić, 2011), in 2014, there were 447 registered ru-
ral households, while today there are around 500. In
terms of the structure of offerings, almost 80 of them
are excursion sites (offering tasting rooms and visits
to the estate), while only 20 offer accommodation
services (Poslovni.hr, 2018). Although development
over two decades has been noticeable, it is not propor-
tional to the development potential of a country with
a vibrant tourism tradition, almost 80 rural areas ac-
companied by the natural, cultural and environmental
values of such area. The largest number of rural house-
holds is registered in Istria and Dubrovnik-Neretva
County, already the most developed Croatian tourist
regions. In the continental part of Croatia, there is
a lack of accommodation capacities, as well as other
rural-related services.
Tourism product development in a rural area is
possible only by respecting its special features and
by ensuring permanent protection of the resource
base, sustainable development, and quality of offer-
ings. These prerequisites can bemet by creating unique
tourism products: tourism events as the basis for tour-
ism offerings in rural destinations. Their uniqueness
is reflected in their continuous dynamic nature; they
can be permanently improved and changed according
to the needs of the local community and supply and
demand, which is why events represent an ideal form
of tourism product in rural areas.
The Contribution of Events in Developing
Rural Tourism Offer
The scientific literature defines tourism events as an
event, occasion, or case, but there are also synonyms
such as occurrence, incident or experience that indi-
cate different types of events or activities in the area,
especially those more significant and easily mem-
orable (Getz, 2010; Bowdin, Allen, O’Toole, Harris
& McDonnell, 2008; Ivančić, 2015). Tourism events
are among the most critical factors in development
strategies and competitiveness increase in many of
the world’s tourism destinations (Goeldner & Ritchie,
2006; Davidson &Rogers, 2006). Tourism events have
a positive social, economic, and cultural impact on a
potential event visitor (Getz & Page, 2016, p. 54), af-
fecting his/her level of satisfaction. Positive effects of
tourism events are also crucial for the local commu-
nity as they ensure sustainable well-being and growth
of the overall life satisfaction in the destination (growth
of standards, social quality of life, etc.) (Drpić, 2017).
A rural tourism destination is competitive when
Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019 | 163
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
it develops its products and services on the tourism
market in a way that ensures tourism consumption
increase and that attracts a larger number of visitors,
providing them with profitable, satisfactory, and un-
forgettable experiences while simultaneously increas-
ing the well-being of the local population and pre-
serving the natural capital of the destination for fu-
ture generations. Gomezelj Omerzel (2006, p. 169)
emphasises that the support of tourism stakeholders
is essential for successful development and sustain-
ability of tourism and could help to improve the des-
tination competitiveness. From the above, it can be
concluded that tourism destination competitiveness
is largely based on sustainable development of basic
resources, strengthening the overall economic per-
formance of the whole community (Crouch & Brent
Ritchie, 2003), and the synergy of all stakeholders.
Destination attractiveness depends primarily on four
elements (Crouch & Brent Ritchie, 1999; Porter, 1990):
core resource base (culture, history, activities, special
events, entertainment and superstructure), supporting
factors (infrastructure, availability, offer, hospitality,
companies), destination management (marketing, fi-
nance, capital, organization, human resource develop-
ment, information/research, quality of services, visitor
management) and qualitative determinants (location,
independence, safety, image, brand, value for money).
From the aforementioned, it can be concluded that
attractiveness influences tourismdestination competi-
tiveness, whose elements destinationmanagement can
successfully present on the tourism market by using
knowledge and skills and by creating tourism events,
thus achieving economic benefits for the destination
(Drpić, 2017; Andersson & Lundberg, 2013, p. 102).
The resource base is the fundamental element of the
competitive ability of the destination, and includes
culture, history and identity of the rural area, which
is conditioned by a variety of historical influences and
can be successfully presented through special events.
Tourism events based on heritage in rural areas
represent a unique tourism product defined by spe-
cific features of the environment and heritage itself.
Heritage is the destination’s distinctive and unique re-
source element whose valorisation ensures increased
competitiveness on the tourism market by offering
a product of high value and recognition. Stipanović,
Rudan, and Peršin (2015) underscore the importance
of heritage-based events in destination branding. The
specific features characterizing heritage-based tourism
events in rural areas are specified by the following:
• events in rural areas are the result of people’s lives
through different historical periods in a given
area;
• events make the local community proud of their
own cultural and historical heritage and stimu-
late its preservation (especially folklore, historical
events, culinary and religious events, etc.);
• heritage-based events must preserve their au-
thenticity;
• events position the rural destination as the desti-
nation of culture and sustainable development;
• events add value to the existing tourism offer of
the rural area;
• events create new tourist experiences that be-
come motives for visiting the destination.
The basic assumption of a rural heritage-based
tourism event is the active involvement of the local
community, which can be achieved by timely infor-
mation and education about the need to preserve and
improve the local tourismofferings, rural areas and the
elements of tangible and non-tangible heritage. The
local community must be involved in every segment
of event planning, organisation, management and de-
velopment, as well as participate in the creation of cor-
rective actions based on feedback from the tourism
market. Heritage-based events represent an element
for creating and promoting the desired identity of ru-
ral destinations and create higher value, which is re-
flected in the local quality of life and the upgrading of
cultural tourism offerings, which in turn contributes
to increased destination competitiveness and satisfac-
tion of all stakeholders.
Figure 1 clearly shows that the prerequisite for
competitive advantage is the sustainable and lasting
synergy between tourism and heritage, which can be
achieved through heritage-based events as the original
and unique elements of rural destinations’ tourism of-
ferings. This is a mutually conditioned process based
on the funnel principle, in which all the positive, as
164 | Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
Heritage Tourism
Tourism event
Innovative tourism product
and competitive advantage
Figure 1 Competitiveness of Rural Tourism Destination:
The Funnel Model
well as negative aspects of the observed elements are
permeated and mutually complemented, creating a
new recognisable tourism product by applying mod-
ern knowledge and skills.
Rural destinationmanagementmust pay particular
attention to determining the desired level of heritage
involved in the tourism product and enable the sus-
tainable development of tourism events, which can be
achieved by incorporating international quality stan-
dards or by adopting unique quality standards for
an individual event or destination. Interventions that
might potentially endanger the value and originality of
the tradition need to be prevented. Undesirable influ-
ences are possible already in the process of designing
a tourism event and are wielded by entrepreneurs and
marketing experts in order to achieve greater mar-
ket attractiveness of the product and to realize greater
economic benefits for the destination, creating false
stories and distorted images of the role of tangible and
non-tangible heritage in the life of the local commu-
nity. In tourism event development, innovation is an
essential driving force of evolution, in which systems
adapt to internal changes or changes in the surround-
ing environment. Innovations take place in all areas of
business, societal, cultural, social and private life, thus
becoming a critical factor in economic development
(Uran Maravić, Križaj & Lesjak, 2015, p. 53).
One of the recognisable heritage and tourismevents
in rural Croatia is the Ðakovo Embroidery Festival,
boasting tradition, originality, and contributing to the
economic and social advancement of the commu-
nity for over half a century. For this reason, the au-
thors have explored the visitors’ satisfaction with cer-
tain elements that affect the competitiveness of both
Ðakovo and theÐakovo Embroidery Festival (culture,
history, infrastructure, accessibility, offer, hospitality,
human resources development, information/research,
quality of services, location, safety, image, value for
money, etc.). The aim is to identify the current level
of event recognition and to set guidelines for further
improvement of rural Croatia’s events on the tourism
market.
Ðakovo Embroidery Festival: Tourism Event Based
on Non-Tangible Rural Heritage
Rural areas in Croatia organise several heritage-based
events, but only a small number of them focus on
potential tourists and are integrated into rural des-
tinations’ tourism offers. One of the numerous well-
known and valuable events presenting the cultural and
historical values of Croatia is the Ðakovo Embroidery
festival, an essential event and symbol of the town of
Ðakovo. The first Slavonia and Baranja folklore festi-
val, ‘Ðakovo Embroidery,’ was held on July 1967 as a
specific cultural tourism event marking the Interna-
tional Tourist Year.
In 2016, the festival celebrated its 50th anniver-
sary.1 It includes many attractive events, including
the ceremonial procession of all the participants, the
opening and closing ceremonies, equestrian competi-
tions, parade of the horse-drawn carts, gastronomic
and musical programmes, and others. This festival
was created and remained on the exceptionally strong
foundations of folk heritage in Ðakovo, for many rea-
sons one of the most important centres of Croatian
folklore. One of the symbols of Ðakovo Embroidery,
Ljelje (the Procession of Queens), has been inscribed
on the World Heritage List. Every spring on Pente-
cost, Ljelje/Queens from Gorjani move in a proces-
sion from house to house, performing a ritual com-
posed of special songs and dances with sabres (Min-
1 According to the estimates in the Cultural Strategy of the
City of Ðakovo, Ðakovo Embroidery gathers more than five
thousand participants from all over Croatia, but also from
abroad, and visitors can enjoy the beauty of folk customs,
costumes, songs, dance, handicrafts, gastronomic specialties
(Ðakovo Tourist Board, personal communication, 2018).
Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019 | 165
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
Table 1 Number of Arrivals and Overnight Stays
in Ðakovo 2010–2017
Year Whole year Ðakovo
Embroidery
Festival
Ðakovo
Embroidery
share ()
() () () () () ()
 , , ,  . .
 , , ,  . .
 , , ,  . .
 , , ,  . .
 , , ,  . .
 , , , , . .
 , , , , . .
 , , , , . .
Total , , , , . .
Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) overnight stays,
(2) arrivals. Based on data from Ðakovo Tourist Board (per-
sonal communication, 2018).
istry of Culture, 2018a). Another essential part of the
festival is ‘bećarac’ – a vocal or vocal-instrumental
song popular in Slavonia, Baranja and Syrmia, usually
sung at weddings and other joyous occasions (Min-
istry of Culture, 2018b). Every year, Ðakovo Embroi-
dery also presents the cultural heritage from the Croa-
tian diaspora; mostly Bosnia and Herzegovina, but
also Australia and New Zealand, the United States,
andCanada.Occasionally, folklore societies fromGer-
many, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia,
and New Zealand are also present, making Ðakovo
Embroidery an international event, increasing mar-
ket recognition of Ðakovo, Slavonia and the Repub-
lic of Croatia on the global tourism market. Positive
impressions left on participants from abroad repre-
sent free advertising and word-of-mouth recommen-
dations based on the non-tangible heritage of the Re-
public of Croatia.
ÐakovoEmbroidery has a significant impact on the
overall tourism promotion of the area, which is also
visible in the increased number of visitors to Ðakovo
during the event. According to Ðakovo Tourist Board
(personal communication, 2018), the number of festi-
val visitors has been continuously increasing from2015
Table 2 Number of Participants and Visitors to Ðakovo
Embroidery Festival
Year Participants Est. no. of
visitors
Increase/decrease
() ()
 , , – –
* , , +. +.
 , , –. +.
Total , , – –
Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) participants, (2)
overnight stays. Based on data from Ðakovo Tourist Board
(personal communication, 2018).
to 2017. In the observed period, the number of visitors
to the event is estimated at 290,000 (see Table 1).
In the observed period, the number ofÐakovo Em-
broidery Festival participants differs only slightly, with
the largest number recorded at the Festival’s 50th an-
niversary, when 3,336 participants attended the event.
At the time of the event, the number of visitors, as
well as overnight stays, increases with minor fluctu-
ations. In 2010, there were 1,063 overnight stays and
567 arrivals, while 2017 recorded 4,137 overnight stays
and 2,040 arrivals, representing a 289,18 increase of
the number of overnight stays and 259,79 increase
of the number of visitors. The number of arrivals in
2017 makes up for 21.20 of the total number of ar-
rivals, and 22.76 of the total number of overnight
stays, which makes a significant increase compared to
2010 when the ratios were 15.41 and 16.59, respec-
tively (see Table 2).
Methodology
The authors conducted empirical research with pri-
mary data in which they used a structured question-
naire, translated and offered in the Croatian and En-
glish languages, to the participants who attended the
event and who voluntarily agreed to participate in the
research when asked. No difficulties occurred dur-
ing the data gathering procedure. The questionnaire
consisted of six parts; the first determining the socio-
demographic characteristics of the respondents, fol-
lowed by determining the motive of arrival to the des-
tination and the event; the means of informing prior
to the arrival to the destination; the way of arrival to
166 | Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
the destination, and the level of satisfaction with the
elements of the offer, which was determined using a
Likert scale. The questionswere prepared according to
the methodologies of previously undertaken research
studies such as tomas (Institute for Tourism, 2008;
2018), Guidelines: Survey Procedures for Tourism Eco-
nomic Impact Assessment of Gated Events and Festivals
(Research Resolutions & Consulting, 2007), and Getz
(2010) in order to determine the necessity to know the
socio-demographic characteristics of visitors as the
basic element for creating a successful event. Themain
goal is to investigate the importance of satisfaction of
the Ðakovo Embroidery visitors and to determine the
characteristics of the users of the Ðakovo Embroidery
service, in order to develop guidelines for further im-
provement of the tourism offerings and, consequently,
a more competitive position of the city of Ðakovo on
the tourism market (Drpić, 2017). The collected re-
search results were processed using spss 2.0, Arith-
metic Mean and Standard Deviation, and Pearson’s
Coefficient of Correlation.
Results
DuringÐakovo Embroidery 2016, a random sample of
57 respondents was surveyed,2 of which women made
up 52.6 and men 47.4. The average age of visitors
is 39.11 years. As far as their educational structure is
concerned, 36.8 of the respondents have a secondary
education, 57.9 higher education and 5.3 of the re-
spondents have a doctoral degree. In terms of the re-
spondents’ country of permanent residence, most are
from Croatia (36.8), Slovenia (31.6), and Germany
(15.8).
More than half of the respondents were visiting the
Ðakovo Embroidery festival for the first time (63.2),
but there is also a significant proportion of those who
visited the event several times (15.8 twice, 15.8 five
times and 5.3 six times). It can be concluded that a
quarter of the respondents are regular visitors to the
event. The respondents mostly used hotel accommo-
dation (42.1), private accommodation (31.6), and
friends or acquaintances (26.3). Almost all the re-
2 The results of the research were published as part of the PhD
thesis (Drpic, 2017).
spondents came to the festival individually (84.2),
spending between one and two days in the destination.
Cultural heritage is the primary motive for com-
ing to the city of Ðakovo (36.8), while the primary
motives for visiting Ðakovo Embroidery are acquain-
tances’ recommendation (36.8) and the image of the
tourism event (21.1). Most of the respondents be-
come informed about the Ðakovo Embroidery festival
via the internet (42.1) and television (31.6). This
fact underscores the importance of modern informa-
tion technology in the promotion of destinations and
events, as well as pre-sale and post-sales activities, es-
pecially since the Ðakovo Embroidery festival does
not have an official website. Visitor consumption is
an essential element in assessing the success of the
event and its competitiveness, and inmaking decisions
about event improvement. The results of the survey
show relatively low visitor consumption in Ðakovo.
During their stay, the visitors intend to spend €195.26
of which the largest share is dedicated to transport, ac-
commodation, and food. Interestingly enough, a sig-
nificant part of the funds is spent on cultural contents
(13.88), i.e. €27.11, of which €14.47 are to be spent at
the event itself (53.37 of the amount to be spent on
culture and 7.41 of the total).
In order to make the right decisions for improving
the existing tourism offer, destination management
needs to be aware of the level of satisfaction with indi-
vidual elements of the offerings and increase competi-
tiveness on the tourism market by removing the weak
points. The respondents evaluated each event element
with scores from 1 to 5, with –1 being ‘very dissatisfied’
and 5 ‘very satisfied.’
Table 3 shows that content recognition and quality
are an essential element of event success. The respon-
dents showed the highest level of satisfaction with in-
terpretation quality of event participants/moderators
– presenters, with a mean value 4.42, followed by at-
tractiveness of the event with amean value of 4.26. The
lowest level of satisfaction refers to information avail-
ability, for which the arithmetic mean of 2.21 indicates
the need for a more active use of marketing and mod-
ern information technology. The respondents show a
high level of satisfaction (3.53) with the image of the
destination.
Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019 | 167
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
Table 3 Level of Satisfaction with Individual Elements of Ðakovo Embroidery
Group Elements () () ()
Content
recognition
and quality
Recognition/image (prior to arrival) . . .
Information availability . . .
Quality of information/marketing materials . . .
Event organisation quality . . .
Event authenticity . . .
Attractiveness . . .
Interpretation quality of event participants/moderators – presenters . . .
Total . . .
Infrastructure Traffic accessibility . . .
Safety . . .
Cleanliness of attraction site . . .
Cleanliness of sanitary facilities . . .
Diversity of side events . . .
Total . . .
Staff, pricing,
amenities
Opening hours of catering and hotel facilities . . .
Prices of beverages or side products . . .
Souvenirs . . .
Staff friendliness . . .
Staff knowledge and expertise . . .
Value for money . . .
Total . . .
Overall satisfaction level . . .
Notes Column headings are as follows: (1) average satisfaction score, (2) standard deviation, (3) correlation coefficient.
Another highly rated element is the attractive-
ness of the event (4.26), suggesting that a varied pro-
gramme, especially if based on original heritage, can
result in high visitor satisfaction. The respondents
are also very satisfied with event authenticity (4.11)
and event organisation quality (4.00). Mean deviation
from the average level of satisfaction with the recog-
nition and quality of the Ðakovo Embroidery festival
is 0.71. Variability of visitor satisfaction with content
recognition and quality is relatively low.
When it comes to infrastructure, the respondents
show the highest level of satisfactionwith safety (4.79).
The respondents are generally very satisfied with Ða-
kovo infrastructure (3.73). It should be noted that the
cleanliness of the attraction site (4.16), the cleanli-
ness of sanitary facilities (3.42) and traffic accessibility
(4.37) are all highly rated. The lowest level of satisfac-
tion refers to the diversity of side events, with a mean
value as low as 1.89.
Mean deviation from the average level of satisfac-
tion with the staff, pricing and amenities is 0.49. The
variability of visitor satisfaction with infrastructure is
relatively low. The highest level of satisfaction (3.95)
is with prices of beverages and side products. The
lowest level of satisfaction refers to souvenirs (2.47),
indicating the current lack of original souvenirs in
the tourism offering and the need to design and of-
fer them. The visitors are mostly satisfied (2.58) with
the opening hours of catering and hotel facilities. This
indicates that destination management, in agreement
168 | Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
with the local authorities, needs to change the current
opening hours of catering facilities. The visitors are
satisfied with value for money (3.68) and staff friend-
liness (3.53). Although the respondents are satisfied
with staff quality, it is not at a satisfactory level given
that staff knowledge and expertise are rated 3.11, in-
dicating the need for further investment in education
and quality of human resources in the destination. The
mean deviation from the average level of satisfaction
with the infrastructure of Ðakovo Embroidery is 1.02,
while the variability of visitor satisfaction with staff,
pricing, and amenities is relatively low. The overall
level of satisfaction with the event is high, with arith-
metic mean 3.53. It can be concluded that 52.6 of all
surveyed respondents are very satisfied with their visit
toÐakovoEmbroidery,while 47.4 are satisfied.Mean
deviation from the average level of overall satisfaction
with the event is 0.51, and variability of overall visitor
satisfaction with the event, in general, is relatively low.
The development and long-term sustainability of ru-
ral heritage-based tourism event can only be ensured
if there are clear standards andmeasures for achieving
a competitive and recognisable rural tourism range of
tourism offerings.
Opportunities for Event Development –
The Example of Ðakovo Embroidery
In order to ensure a sustainable competitive position
on the market characterised by constant changes, new
forms of tourism demand, and an abundance of com-
petitors, rural tourism destinations need to design a
model for evaluating the quality of contents and ele-
ments of rural heritage-based tourism events.
The process of creating a heritage-based tourism
event is complex and demanding and requires a va-
riety of knowledge and skills from destination man-
agement, as well as modern technology solutions such
as interactive web sites, applications, virtual tours of
Ðakovo and Ðakovo Embroidery, etc.
In addition, it is necessary to ensure a permanent
and consistent quality of planning, organisation, im-
plementation, information and monitoring, as well as
corrective activities. Unfortunately, there is no sta-
tistical monitoring of the number of event visitors,
which prevents the creation of appropriate develop-
ment plans and strategies. Event development could be
steered by international or national quality standards,
such as iso 20121 for sustainable event management,
designed in 2012 at the time of the Olympic Games
in London, and applied during the Eurovision Song
Contest in Stockholm, achieving enviable results in
sustainability management, especially in reducing the
use of hazardous waste materials, energy consump-
tion, and exhaust gases. By using only biodegradable
materials for beverages, the organizers prevented the
creation of two tons of waste, while energy saving was
achieved by using special water heating systems and
encouraging the use of local food (see https://www
.iso.org/iso-20121-sustainable-events.html).
In addition to international iso standards, it is
possible to design internal or national standards that
aremore closely tailored to the needs of the local com-
munity and the local tourism market. One example
of a possible standardisation system in Croatia pre-
sented in this paper is the CroRuralisHeritage pro-
gram. The basic purpose of certification is to achieve
greater transparency and added value for all stake-
holders in the Ðakovo destination, but it must be sub-
ject to permanent improvements using feedback sys-
tems and modern information technologies. Value as-
sessment of the Ðakovo Embroidery festival would be
performed by evaluating the three groups of parame-
ters on which Ðakovo Embroidery is based: heritage
(tangible and intangible), event (Ðakovo Embroidery)
and rural destination (Ðakovo). See Table 4.
The certification committee could include:
• Representatives of the Ðakovo Tourist Board
• Representatives of the Ðakovo city
• Representatives of cultural workers
• Representatives of tourism workers
• Representatives of scientists and professionals
• Local community – participation in public dis-
cussion of the assessment results
Each representative could award points that would
affect the final result at a predetermined rate, with the
aimof preventing individual preferences and bias.One
essential element for event certification of the Ðakovo
Embroidery festival is its influence on the sustain-
able destination development of Ðakovo, as well as
Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019 | 169
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
Table 4 Ðakovo Embroidery certification parameters
Heritage (30) Event (30) Rural destination (40)
Heritage preservation.
Effects of previous reconstructions.
Heritage repurpose possibility.
Adopted destination strategy for
sustainable heritage management.
Economic performance of heritage.
Economic sustainability of the event.
Implementation of international and
national quality standards
Environmental responsibility (res,
green perspectives . . .).
Development opportunities
infrastructure.
Attitudes of the local community.
Tourism event harmonization with
local development strategies and the
existing tourism product.
Application Assessment Corrective action Decision
Assessment of tourism event Assessment of compatibility
between the actual situation
during the event and the time
of the registration
Suggestions for corrective
actions accepted by the
organizer and carried out
during the evaluation process
The certificate is granted
for a limited period; after
re-certification it becomes
permanent
Figure 2 Application process for CroRuralisHeritage certification
the sustainable management of tangible and intangi-
ble heritage in the overall micro and macro environ-
ment. The purpose of event assessment by the certi-
fication board is to determine the weak links in the
chain in order to remove them, and to emphasise the
strong links as the basis for the creation of competi-
tive advantage. The CroRuralisHeritage certification
process is conceived as a national system for evalu-
ating heritage-based tourism events held in Croatian
rural areas, facilitating the promotion on the tourism
market through CroRuralisHeritage brand. The pro-
cess of obtaining a certificate is conceived as a several
months-long process that would begin no later than
six months prior to the event. A heritage-based event
would be applied by either the event organizer or a
target group within the destination.
The assessment of comparability between the ap-
plication and the actual situation would be carried out
by an assessment team that would, based on the dis-
crepancies noted, draw up a list of corrective actions
that the organizer would have to conduct before the
end of the current event. After the proposed correc-
tions are implemented, the organiser invites the eval-
uators to carry out the final evaluation of the event and
make the decision about awarding the CroRuralisHer-
itage certificate. The certificate is awarded for one year,
followed by a re-evaluation process. A re-awarded cer-
tificate is considered permanent and can only be de-
nied in case of breaching of the basic principles of cer-
tification (i.e., violation of heritage authenticity, the
rural area, and the general resource base) (Figure 2).
Conclusion
Although comprising a significant part of the Croa-
tian territory, rural areas are not sufficiently recog-
nized and included in the tourism offerings; most of
the tourist traffic continues to take place in seaside
destination and resorts.
Culture and heritage represent essential elements
in preserving the tradition and strengthening local
identity as a prerequisite for creating a permanently
successful heritage-based tourism event and guaran-
teeing its sustainability on the market. Considering
that the rural area is rich in heritage and has a pre-
served resource base, it is an ideal area for improving
the existing tourism offer of the Republic of Croatia.
This paper presents the Ðakovo Embroidery festival
as a tourism event model whose success and longevity
are based on heritage and which represents an essen-
tial factor in the preservation of heritage, especially its
most vulnerable aspect: intangible heritage.
The limitation of this research lies in its small
170 | Academica Turistica, Year 12, No. 2, December 2019
Danijel Drpi and Elena Rudan Event Competitivness in Heritage Tourism in Rural Croatia
number of respondents, and further research should
be directed to other destination stakeholders, such
as local population, participants, and management.
The research should be repeated in a reasonable pe-
riod on a larger statistical sample. Research accuracy
would be improved by the organisers’ more precise
statistical tracking of number of visitors, since it is
now only based on estimation. The authors, there-
fore, suggest implementation of possibly on-line or
application-based registration of visitors before they
come to the event. The research has pointed to the im-
portance of using modern means of communicating
with the market through websites, social networks,
Q bar codes, smartphone app development, and the
like. The Ðakovo Embroidery Festival is only present
on Facebook, and does not have its own web site or
mobile app, which makes it challenging to achieve a
sufficient level of presence in the media of the event
itself, thereby disrupting its actual developmental and
competitive potential on the market. This is also per-
ceived as one of the significant shortcomings of the
event.
The implementation of the proposed certification
program CroRuralisHeritage would enhance rural
tourism destination recognition, the creation of added
value of the overall tourism product and long-term
sustainability of the destination, heritage and tourism
events. The process of designing a heritage-based tour-
ismproductmust be based on feedback from the target
market and the local community, allowing the desti-
nation management to take timely corrective action
in order achieve sustainable management of the rural
heritage-based tourism event.
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