摘要：The paper analyzes the loss of the tourist market as a consequence of the war in the Dubrovnik region, beginning in the 1990's. Presented are the enormous devastations of war, which weakened fundamental tourist activities to a frightening extent, and the great, both direct and indirect financia l and other losses which resulted from the absence of Dubrovnik on the tourist market and the exclusion of this once very popular destination from the more intensive tourist tracks. Special attention is paid to structural changes and to their possible effects on foreign tourist demand during the comeback years, specifically, the return of Dubrovnik to the tourist market, according to the residency status of tourists coming to the Dubrovnik region. An analysis of the existing situation reveals, irregardless of present difficulties, that a significantly different approach to tourism is necessary. This implies the defining of long-term strategic goals, to specifically determine towards which market segments products should be directed and the development of a contemporary tourist marketing system. The key problem lies in returning Dubrovnik to the previous traditional and more demanding markets. As such, the tourist product has to have more quality, with a more pronounced emphasis on historical and cultural heritages, while marketing policies have to be aimed towards specific market segments. The paper stresses how Dubrovnik possesses the potential of achieving originality and variety in comparison to other competitive destinations.
