Analysis of information in the branding of Croatian national identity for the purpose of tourism in the context of globalization

Analiza informacija nacionalnog identiteta ima važnu ulogu u osmišljavanju, razvoju i strategiji brendiranja neke države. Informacije dobivene mišljenjem stranih turista ukazuju na percepciju nacionalnog brenda te na kulturna i kompetitivna obilježja koja diferenciraju Hrvatsku na nacionalnoj i međunarodnoj razini. U radu će se kroz istraživanje na populaciji stranih državljana ispitati stavovi o kulturnom turizmu i dimenzijama brendiranje Hrvatske kao države. Rad se sastoji od teorijskog i praktičnog dijela. U teorijskom dijelu, u radu se prikazuje uloga tehnologije i pristup informacijama u doba globalizacije. Analizira se pojam kompetitivnog identiteta države na primjerima stranih država, kao i elementi koji prema međunarodnim kriterijima utječu na rangiranje neke države kao što su ekonomski učinak, digitalna potražnja, strategija brenda neke zemlje i online prisutnost. Prikazuje se važnost pristupa informacijama kroz pojam modernog turizma. U praktičnom dijelu provedeno je istraživanje na 175 stranih državljana – stranih turista, ali uglavnom studentske populacije, u Republici Hrvatskoj. Istraživanjem se ispituje percepcija Hrvatske kao države brenda kroz kulturni i kompetitivni identitet. Upitnik sadrži 31 pitanje u kojima se ispituju demografski podaci, preferencije vezane uz putovanje i odabir destinacije te stavovi vezani uz hrvatski nacionalni brend prema Simon Anholtovom (2005) modelu Indeksa nacionalnog brendiranja (eng. Nation Brands Index - NBI). Kroz šest dimenzija ispituje se percepcija stranih turista kroz sljedeće dimenzije: Ljudi, Upravljanje državom, Izvoz, Turizam, Kultura, Ulaganje i imigracije te se ispituju stavovi prema odabiru Hrvatske kao destinacije. Cilj ovog rada jest utvrditi jesu li obilježja modernog turizma primjenjiva na ispitanicima, odnosno odrediti preferencije ispitanika vezane uz putovanje i stavove prema elementima nacionalnog identiteta Hrvatske kao brenda.The analysis of national identity information plays an important role in the design, development, and branding strategy of a country. The information obtained from the opinion of foreign tourists indicates the perception of the national brand and the cultural and competitive features that differentiate Croatia at the national and international levels. The paper will examine attitudes about cultural tourism and branding dimensions of Croatia as a country through a survey of the population of foreign citizens. The work consists of a theoretical and a practical part. In the theoretical part, the paper presents the role of technology and access to information in the age of globalization. The concept of a country's competitive identity is analyzed using the examples of foreign countries, as well as elements that, according to international criteria, influence the ranking of a country, such as economic performance, digital demand, a country's brand strategy, and online presence. The importance of access to information through the concept of modern tourism is shown. In the practical part, research was carried out on 175 foreign citizens - foreign tourists, but mostly student population, in the Republic of Croatia. The research examines the perception of Croatia as a state brand through cultural and competitive identity. The questionnaire contains 31 questions that examine demographic data, preferences related to travel and destination selection, and attitudes related to the Croatian national brand according to Simon Anholt's (2005) Nation Brands Index (NBI) model. Through six dimensions, the perception of foreign tourists is examined through the following dimensions: People, Government, Export, Tourism, Culture, Investment, and immigration, and the attitudes towards choosing Croatia as a destination are examined. This paper aims to determine whether the features of modern tourism apply to the respondents, that is, to determine the respondents' preferences related to travel and attitudes towards the elements of Croatia's national identity as a brand