THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AND EXPERIENCES IN TOURISM OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Public-private partnership (PPP) is a method for developing sustainable development that has been proven worldwide and endorsed in practice, and its ultimate aim is to increase the overall well-being of society. In a variety of ways, it brings together the interests of the public, private and civil sector in meeting specific needs for augmenting the quality and/or availability of services and products The European Union (UN) has not always supported the co-financing of projects devised as PPP. Recently, however, it has begun to encourage a wider application of this form of financing that demonstrates a huge potential in accomplishing public services, that is, projects intended for the public. Marketing and promotion, product development, education, financing and investment, and environmental protection are but some of the areas of public-private collaboration in tourism in a global setting. The purpose of this paper is to provide an outline of world experience and practice in PPP with emphasis on the EU, so that Croatia, by taking under consideration these experiences, advantages and disadvantages, may define an appropriate legal and business framework and identify the criteria for the successful implementation of PPP in its economy, and in particular, in tourism, one of its highest-growth industries