MODELLING THE PROBABILITY OF TOURISTS’ RETURN INTENTION: THE CASE OF OPATIJA RIVIERA

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the key factors that influence the probability of tourists’ return intention to the Opatija Riviera. Methodology – A structured questionnaire with a 5 point Likert scale was used within this research. The authors used the descriptive statistics to determine the satisfaction with the destination attributes, and attitudes regarding the novelty of offer and possibility of future revisit. With the use of T-test a statistically significant difference was determined for the score for the accommodation capacities, natural resources and novelty. Correlation analysis was used to determine the association between accommodation, natural resources, cultural resources, novelty, and return intention. Logistic regression model was used to get a better understanding of the factors that may influence probability of tourists’ return intention. Findings – Results indicate high level of satisfaction of tourists with the accommodation offer and natural resources, while the results for cultural tourist resources were not up to expectations. The results for novelty are moderate and consistent with the results expressed about possible return intention to Opatija Riviera in the future, which indicates the need for significant improvements within the offer. The results of a logistic regression model determined that the best predictors for repeat visit of tourists are primarily accommodation services, followed by natural resources and finally novelty. Contribution – Based on the findings acquired within this paper the authors proposed the guidelines for tourist offer improvement with a goal of increasing the satisfaction of tourists and stimulating them to revisit Opatija Riviera in the future.