DENTAL TOURISM – AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CROATIAN TOURISM

Acknowledging a growing demand in the sector of medical tourism as well as a growing demand for dental care from developed countries, this paper discusses the possibilities of successful and sustainable use of dental tourism potential and its marketing activities on a national level. The purpose of this article is to emphasize dental tourism development as an opportunity for Croatian tourism more than just „sea and sun” seasonal tourism products. Research results show that Croatia has the necessary preconditions and key resources for dental tourism development, recognized in the strategic documents of the Republic of Croatia, such include outstanding natural and qualified human resources, but also competitive prices and proximity to the large source markets, however this form of tourism in Croatia has not used its development possibilities due to the lack of systematic national promotion and the absence of a strong sales network in Croatia. The existing market position of dental tourism in Croatia is still insufficiently diversified, relatively unorganized and poorly recognized, and it’s determined mainly by the individual efforts of private clinics so the special focus is given to marketing initiatives which influence the international recognisability of Croatia as a popular destination of dental tourism. The methods used in the research include description, compilation and classification of scientific and professional papers. The primary research was conducted in February 2017 by quota sampling of 15 dental clinics in Primorsko Goranska County, selected from the Croatian Dental Chamber’s list. Selection criteria was made in base of location and the number of employees. The study was focused on gathering qualitative data, focused on the analysis of their websites and an online survey was send to above mentioned dental clinics. The online survey was consisted of 18 questions and structured in a way to meet all research objectives. The sample included employees and managers of dental clinics. The study tested the following hypotheses: H1 Croatia has developed dental tourism as a health tourism sub-segment. H2 Dental clinics use marketing activities to promote dental tourisam. H3 Croatia government doesn`t offer subventions for the marketing activities of dental tourism. Dental tourism offers Croatia an opportunity to prolong the tourist season throughout the year, as dental patients have teeth problems all year long, which leads to an increasing percentage of capacity utilization, but it can also influence development of tourist facilities and infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, travel agencies) and raise overall employment. Marketing activities in Croatia's dental tourism are insufficiently diversified. Dental clinics should enhance their strategic marketing to lure international clients. Croatia’s government should support and evaluate dental tourism development as an economic process and an opportunity for tourism. Contribution of this study is in assessment of Croatia’s dental clinics marketing initiatives and government efforts towards increasing performance and quality of the dental tourism offer. Following global trends and observing the practice and promotional techniques of neighboring countries who are active in the dental tourism market we can find the most appropriate way of implementing such marketing and tourism activity’s which can serve as basis for further development with the aim of enhancing Croatia’s position on the global dental market. Limitation of the study is that research results couldn’t be compared as there is no primer conducted related study in Croatia best to our knowledge. Future research should focus on the number, profile, motives, satisfaction and movements of dental tourists because there is a general lack of research on those subjects. JAL Classification: M31, I10, Z32