Should Italians, Croats and Slovenes Work Together in Developing a Northern Adriatic Tourist Destination?

The article assesses opportunities for creating a macro-tourist destination in the region of the Northern Adriatic. Research was based on a survey of more than 1700 summer tourists in three different sea towns, namely Grado in Italy, Opatija in Croatia and Portorož in Slovenia in 2004. The three countries share a common past under the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and are headed for a common future within the European Union. Survey results of tourists' motivations and destination quality perceptions support the notion that the Northern Adriatic is considered by many central Europeans as the "sea closest to home". Thus, EU efforts under the framework of the Cohesion Policy of EU regions could also be adopted in the area of joint destination management of the Northern Adriatic. A Destination Management Organization for the three regions should be established as the main agent of change in the destination management of the region.