The influence of the security perception of a tourist destination on its competitiveness and attractiveness

Visitors' impressions of a destination's security have an increasing impact on their visit. It is also evident in the negative trends in visiting destinations where terrorist attacks take place, where the consequences of the migrant crisis are pronounced, including areas where natural disasters occur sporadically due to climate change or where local crime is on the rise, etc. The minds and subconscioussness of tourists naturally influence the choice of the destination they travel to, when they travel, and how long they will stay there. In addition to establishing and maintaining an adequate security system for the tourist destination, it is necessary to continuously monitor visitors' impressions of how safe they feel or what security threats are bothering them. Based on these findings, it is possible to prevent the negative trend in tourist visits due to fears related to personal safety. Raising the security standards of the destination and more effective management of security features in the destination image and brand are just some of the activities employed for this purpose. But the complexity and cost of these activities require rational tactical and strategic decisions in destination security management. The prerequisite for rationality in decision making is information. Therefore, relevant knowledge about visitors' impressions of a destination's security is incredibly crucial for managing destination tourism development. Based on the thus defined subject of the research, the authors aim to analyse the influence of perceptions of safety on the unexpectedly successful tourist season of the city of Split and its surroundings. The focus of the research problem is the impact of destination security impressions when choosing where to travel and how long to stay there.