Tourists ' perceptions of capital cities : The case study of Zagreb , Croatia

Introduction Zagreb a city of contrasts: Tourists’ perceptions Tourism has been compared to a sacred journey, a process resulting in fatality to prejudice, as well as being a modern ritual (Singh, 2004).Tourism can also more practically be defined "as a temporary stay in a certain area by people in pursuit of their recreational, cultural, or other needs" (Bilen, 1998, p. 4). This pursuit is also a growing industry/business throughout the world (Dimanche & Ferry, 2003) and is expanding with interesting markets such as students (Carr & Axelsen, 2005) and older adults (Roberson, 2003). Between the years 1950 and 1996 the overall international growth of tourist industry increased by twenty-four times; hardly any other economic activity has witnessed similar growth (Bilen, 1998). Furthermore, some writers discuss how tourism is now the leading global industry (Dragičević, Čizmar & Poljanec-Borić, 1998) Donald N. Roberson