The Impact of Marketing Information on the Decisions of Nautical Tourists Visiting Eastern Adriatic Regio

The information-seeking process of nautical tourists is essential for their decision-making when choosing a specific destination. Modern destination marketing is constantly changing due to the development of new technologies that are meant to attract and retain nautical tourists. Nautical destination managers use modern communication to build and maintain a better image and develop destinations as brands which can function sustainably even in the times of crisis. This paper examines modern and traditional marketing sources of information about Montenegro and Croatia as nautical tourist destinations. It was revealed that the largest share of the informed tourists had previous experience with a destination or were informed through internet sources. The results confirmed that the internet is increasingly used by the surveyed tourists, i.e., there is an increase in promotion through digital marketing tools in both destinations. The comparison of the trends between 2012 and 2021 indicated three common sources of information in both destinations: previous experience, the internet and the recommendations of friends and relatives. The study is based on cross-tabulation analysis which detects the differences in the method of obtaining information by the tourists whose age, gender and education level varied. The practical implication of this paper is the development of destination marketing in the Eastern Adriatic region. More precisely, the study might help the creators of developmental policies and destination operators to choose appropriate marketing strategies in order to adequately position a destination in the market.