ENHANCING COMPETITIVENESS FOR ECONOMIC AND TOURISM GROWTH: CASE OF CROATIA

Purpose - the Tourism-Led Economic Growth Hypothesis (TLGH) is fundamental to the development of the tourism countries. The following research stresses the ever-growing importance of knowledge and creativity- through various disciplines - on national competitiveness and overall economic and tourism development. Emphasis will be given to the particulars of the tourism industry, the achieved level of economic growth, the tourism and economic competitiveness as well as the level of creativity. The study asserts that the nation's economic and tourism development corresponds to the acquired competitiveness and creativity level. Methodology - the relationship between the variables which indicate economic and tourism development, knowledge, competitiveness and creative economy, will be examined through the comparative study on the case of EU countries (EU28). Multiple linear regression model (MLR) is tested on the case of Croatia (IBM SPSS). Findings - in today's global crisis, one of the ways to promote economic wealth and growth is supporting service and creative industries. Tourism, as a part of the economic growth model, has a strong positive impact on the creative economy and competitiveness. The optimal development model of tourism economies is global comprehensive approach and it encompasses multidisciplinary relationship with all economic activities. Competitiveness, creativity, economic and tourism growth can be used as variables in forecasting tourism demand and tourism consumption. Contribution - the research's contribution is reflected in a comprehensive study of the competitiveness and creative economy with a particular emphasis on tourism. The proposed macroeconomic model forms an excellent basis for the conduction of an economic policy and the employment of the appropriate instruments.