Craig Webster and Stanislav Ivanov

Previous research has not adequately measured the effectiveness of a state’s promotion of its tourism product. In this research, the authors use an econometric model to measure the impact of the Croatian, Czech, and Slovak states’ attempts to promote their tourism products abroad. The findings show the effectiveness of the state’s attempts to market their products. The dependent variables in the analysis are two measures of tourism demand overnights and tourist arrivals. Various measures of state attempts to promote the national tourism product abroad are employed for Croatia while only the presence or absence of a national tourism organization office abroad is available for Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Control variables are taken into account to determine whether alternative arguments for tourism demand are more successful in determining tourism demand in Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia than simply the efforts of national tourism organizations. Most notably, this research delves into whether there is a Communist legacy that influences tourism demand and whether visa requirements dissuade tourists from visiting the three specific countries under study.