CONTEMPORARY TRENDS ON THE CONGRESS TOURISM MARKET

Svrha ovog diplomskog rada je analiza ključnih suvremenih trendova na tržištu kongresnog turizma, isticanje značajki kongresnog turizma u odnosu na ostale specifične oblike turizma te argumentiranje suvremenih trendova i kretanja na tržištu kongresnog turizma na odabranom praktičnom primjeru. U radu su iznesene temeljne definicije pojma kongresnog turizma, koji se među ostalim oblicima ističe kroz temeljni motiv putovanja turista ovog segmenta, povezan s potrebama koje se nadovezuju na njihovo radno mjesto, a ne na dokolicu i uobičajeni odmor kojem teže druge skupine turista. Osim temeljnih razlikovnih značajki u odnosu na druge specifične oblike turizma, spomenute su i karakteristike koje diferenciraju kongresni od ostalih pojavnih oblika turizma u globalnoj MICE industriji. Komentiran je i razvoj kongresnog turizma od samih povijesnih početaka, do današnjeg stanja kroz pregled svih sastavnica marketinškog miksa. Dosadašnji razvoj kongresnog turizma uspoređen je sa razvojem zemalja u međunarodnom okruženju, te je definirana pozicija hrvatskog kongresnog turizma na svjetskom turističkom tržištu, kroz analizu kongresne ponude i kretanje turističke potražnje. U konačnici su navedeni aktualni trendovi koji utječu na standard i uspješnost pojedine destinacije ili centra u primjeni i razvoju kongresnog turizma, a kao primjer uspješne prakse u oblikovanju kongresnog prostora i sadržaja u Hrvatskoj istaknut je hotel Antunović u Zagrebu.The purpose of this master's thesis is the analysis of the key contemporary trends on the congress tourism market, highlighting the characteristics of congress tourism in relation to other specific forms of tourism, and argumentation of contemporary trends and congress tourism market movements on the chosen practical example. The thesis presents an outline of the basic definitions of the term congress tourism, which stands out among other forms through its underlying travel motive of tourists in this segment, associated with needs that are complementary to their workplace, and not to leisure and usual vacation sought by other groups of tourists. Apart from the basic distinctive features in relation to other specific forms of tourism, characteristics that differentiate congress tourism from other forms of tourism in the global MICE industry are also mentioned. The development of congress tourism is presented from its very historical beginnings to the present day through an overview of all the components of the marketing mix. The development of congress tourism so far has been compared to the development of the countries in international environment, and the position of Croatian congress tourism on the world tourism market has been defined through analysis of the congress supply and the trends in tourism demand. Finally, current trends which affect the standard and the success of a particular destination or congress center in the application and development of congress tourism are listed, and hotel Antunović in Zagreb is highlighted as an example of successful practice in design of the congress venue and facilities in Croatia