An analysis of Croatia's hotel offer and its comparison to offers in competing countries

Hotelijerstvo je od davnina važan segment vezan za kretanja ljudi, odnosno turista. Početci razvoja hotelijerstva, kao i samog turizma, potječu iz antičkog i rimskog doba. Naime, ljudi su počeli putovati pa su se pojavile potrebe za smještajem, pićem i hranom. Tada su se počeli otvarati prvi smještajni objekti. U srednjem vijeku intenzitet putovanja bio je nešto manji, zbog nesigurnosti i opasnosti od razbojničkih pljački. Više se putovalo zbog poslovnih razloga, a manje radi zabave. Prošlo stoljeće donijelo je velike promjene koje su bile presudne za poslovanje hotelske industrije. Hotelska poduzeća, prilagođavanjem na nove trendove, pojedinačno prolaze kroz fazu rasta i razvoja. U novije doba hotelijerstvo se naglo razvija u onim destinacijama koje postaju turistički zanimljive, osobito za odmorišni turizam, koji karakterizira i hrvatsku turističku ponudu. Cilj je rada analizirati hrvatsko hotelijerstvo u usporedbi s konkurentskim zemljama i donijeti preporuke za buduće razvojne pravce.The hotel industry has long been an important segment for citizens or tourists. The beginnings of hotel development, as well as tourism itself, originate in Ancient Roman times. Namely, people began to travel and required accommodation and sustenance, resulting in the opening of the first accommodation facilities. During the Middle Ages, the intensity of travel was somewhat smaller, due to uncertainty and danger of robbery. People traveled more for business than for fun. The past century brought great changes that were crucial for the development of the hotel industry. A company's hotels must adapt to new trends, and go through the processes of growth and development individually. In recent times, the hotel industry has been rapidly evolving, especially in those destinations that are becoming tourist attractions, primarily for vacation tourism, which characterizes Croatia's tourist offer.The aim of this paper is to analyze the Croatian hotel industry in comparison to competing countries, and make recommendations for future development directions