Possibilities of Connecting Maritime and Continental Tourism with an Emphasis on Sustainable Development

Contemporary tourism trends are marked by a number of elements that enrich the product of the tourism and travel industry and contribute to the satisfaction of visitors, while respecting the principles of sustainable tourist destination management. This paper analyzes the possibilities for the implementation of charter flights and the introduction of electric cars with the aim of connecting maritime and continental tourism in Croatia on the principles of sustainable development of tourist destinations. For the purpose of proving the set hypotheses, research has been carried out involving all the county tourist offices as the target points of the survey, as each of them covers a range of local self-government units, and can be considered a representative sample of tourism in the entire territory of Croatia. The survey was conducted through questionnaires with the office directors. The analysis of their responses suggests the need to approach and merge maritime and continental tourism through a new tourist product by introducing charter flights and electric cars. Based on the results of the research and in the opinion of the respondents, the introduction of charter flights would lead to the extension of the tourist season, the expansion of the tourist offer and thus the greater pleasure of visitors themselves, increase of employment, increase of local government revenues and synergy effect of economic development. Respondents believe that the introduction of alternative electric vehicles would significantly contribute to environmental protection and rationalization of operations due to considerably lower costs (gas emissions into the environment, the possibility of co-financing through EU funds or central and local government funds, maintenance costs, etc.). The introduction of charter flights and the usage of electric cars from the airport to the destination would significantly contribute to the achievement of better tourism-related results and the increase of the competitiveness of Croatian tourism as a whole.