How special projects impact tourist experience in destination

Istria, the major tourist region in Croatia, recognizes the importance of the development of the travel industry, repositioning the destination offer and detachment from the summer resort destination with traditional sun and sea offer. Purpose of the paper The aim of this paper is to explore the possibilities for valorisation of destination resources, to organise them into a tourism project and place them on the market as special products which enable customers to experience a unique “sensation plus”. Analysis and research are focused on the off-season months since these are the months during which the number of tourist movements should be increased. Special programmes affect the competitiveness and ensure comparative advantage of one destination over another. They animate and motivate tourism demand and boost tourist arrivals and overnights, which has been proven by the research conducted on tourist attitudes towards innovative tourism programs in Istria. As a case study, special tourist project Goddess Sentona will be presented. Study Method and Value The research of this paper is focused on the importance of the tourism projects for the tourist experience and destination development. It includes a questionnaire filled out by tourists in Istrian tourist destinations and interviews with service providers in the destination. Statistical methods are used to analyse the obtained data and to present gained results. Data acquisition methods, creative thinking methods and other scientific and research methods are used with the aim of testing the hypothesis and gaining new knowledge. The findings make us aware of possible solutions for the problem and prove the hypothesis: Through synergy of public or private partnership, tourism projects and special events organised by DMO increase the attractiveness and competitiveness of a tourist destination. The research results enable us to discern principles and reach conclusions on the importance of development of a system of experience in one cluster within guidelines set in the Master Plan of Tourism Development in Istria. The research raises new questions, but it also provides qualitative solutions for transforming the traditional destination offer according to the demands of the contemporary international tourism market which identifies social responsibility and sustainability as trends of future global development.