DEVELOPING EVENTS TO REPOSITION TOURIST DESTINATIONS

In a globalised setting, the only way to differentiate Croatian destinations from others is by asserting the destinations’ traditions, history, indigenous elements and cultural heritage. This paper synthesizes and builds upon the theoretical determinants of event tourism in developing and branding destinations, with practical implementation in the example of the Krk Fair “Lovrečeva”. Based on the current-state analysis of the competitiveness of the Krk Fair and tourism in the Town of Krk, the paper defines development objectives and strategies to enable the event to evolve into the brand, symbol, synonym and identity of the destination based on a culture of learning and integration (synergy of local government and self-government, Tourist Boards, all stakeholders, and residents as drivers of entrepreneurship, together with the active involvement of tourists). The study highlights opportunities and concrete activities in valorising and asserting historical and cultural heritage to bring together the destination’s past and its tourism-related present and future to build a distinctive identity for the Town of Krk. The originality of the paper is the result of theoretical determinants, the opinions of the authors, and the results of surveying managers; as such it presents a starting point for future studies. The limitations of the study relate to the small sample of surveyed managers and to the fact that residents and tourists were not surveyed