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Vuk Tvrtko Opačić Tourism Valorisation of Croatian Intangible Cultural Heritage

Figure 3 The Number of Beds in Sinj and Other Settlements Belonging to the Administrative Area of the Town of Sinj
for the Period 2016–2021
Source Croatian Tourist Board (2016; 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020; 2021)

from a very touristified Croatian coastline toward less centage fell to 74.13% and 64.43% for 2019 and 2021,
saturated destinations in closer hinterland regions. As respectively. It becomes evident that the rate of tourist
a developing destination, in these new circumstances, nights in the surrounding areas of Sinj increased more
Dalmatinska Zagora has many opportunities to devel- quickly than the percentage of arrivals; this leads to
op increasingly popular alternative forms of tourism, the conclusion that tourists stay in the surrounding
such as cultural tourism, events tourism, intangible areas longer than in the town. The explanation is that
heritage tourism, gastro tourism, ecotourism, cyclo the tourism supply for accommodation in holiday
tourism, rural tourism, for which one can expect a houses and private accommodations better suited for
greater demand in the post-COVID period. more extended stays in the surrounding areas is grow-
What supports the evidence of the current dis- ing quicker than in Sinj.
persion of tourism in the Town of Sinj as a tourist The overall number of beds in tourist accommo-
destination is a trend indicating a smaller percentage dation across the entire administrative region of the
of tourist arrivals and nights in Sinj compared to sur- Town of Sinj almost doubled in six years (2016–2021),
rounding settlements which belong administratively from 196 beds in 2016 to 384 beds in 2021 (Figure 3).
to the Town of Sinj. Hence, the share of tourist arrivals Though Sinj recorded the most significant number
in Sinj in 2016 was 96.89% of all administrative areas of beds in all analysed years, the growth was due to an
of the Town of Sinj. This percentage fell to 91.81% and increase in the number of beds in other settlements in
84.05% for 2019 and 2021, respectively. In 2016, 86.72% the administrative area of the Town of Sinj. In contrast,
of all tourist nights in the administrative area of the the number of beds in Sinj recorded a minor increase.
Town of Sinj were in the settlement of Sinj. This per- The percentage of overall beds from other settlements

Proceedings of the 7th UNESCO UNITWIN Conference | 39