Tourist Board Networking In The Region Slavonia As The Condition For An Efficient Management Of The Region

There are different models of regional networking of tourism organizations. The first regional tourism organization was founded in 1864th in St. Moritz. After that a greater role of regional organizations have not come to the fore until the seventies and eighties of the 20th century. The England Tourist Board (ETB) was established in 1969 by 12 regional tourism organizations, with the support of local authorities and the private sector. In other European countries, regional tourism organizations have been established starting from the eighties of the 20th century. Models of regional networking of tourism organizations may be different. In some countries, the system is dictated by the state, as it is the case in England or in Queensland, in Australia. In Sweden and New Zealand, there is freedom of the regional networking, each establishment of a regional structure is preferred. The Croatian practice at the national level still do not know the formal model of regionalization. Tourist board networking in the tourist undeveloped continental part of Croatia, particularly of those that operate in Slavonia as the most underdeveloped tourist region in Croatia, is a prerequisite for effective marketing and management of tourist destinations in this area. The same is corroborated by the results of primary research that was conducted in September and October 2013 among directors of the Tourist Boards in the region of Slavonia. The primary research objective was to determine if the region of Slavonia may become more recognizable in tourist markets only if its tourism development is managed unified, from the regional level. At this level, there is a need to constitute the Tourist Organization of Slavonia. Main functions of this organization will be, beside marketing, strategic planning and development; tourism system management, and research and information gathering.