The influence of tourism in the tourism destination can be tracked through changes on
natural and infrastructural resources, but also through the changes in local residents
everyday life. Those changes can be positive as well as negative so it is important to
include local residents into the tourism development flows of the destination.
Especially because of the fact that local residents are a part of the integral destination
product and from the level of their satisfaction depends the quality of the tourism
product. The need for involving the local residents points out in the processes of the
development of the tourism offer which can influence their lives, and would include
active involvement of the local residents into the decision making process starting with
the planning to the formation of the final product. Conducted research showed some
interesting results and opinions of the local residents about important tourism
questions. City Požega belongs to the region of Croatia which is rich with natural
tourism resources, but insufficiently used in the tourism offer. The research showed
that one of the reasons for that is the low progress in raising awareness of the citizens
about the tourism potential their destination has. Result analysis showed that most of
the citizens are not pleased with the facilities offered in this city, and consider them not
adapted to the modern demand. That fact is connected by the 85% of residents who
considers Požega undeveloped as a tourism destination, also by the 100% of residents
that declared themselves as not familiar with the decision making or involved in the
development process. If the residents of Požega would be consulted, they would
present Požega as a tourism destination for excursions and gastro tourism, and also in
small groups Požega is seen as a destination of rural and health tourism. That small
group also point out the fact that rural tourism is not as known to the residents as a
possibility for development and growth as it should be. The fact that should be pointed
out is that residents see Požega as an extremely attractive tourism destination which
they would gladly recommend to tourists, but while rating the attraction of the city, the lowest graded were precisely the tourism infrastructural facilities. As it was pointed on
the example used in the research, a large significance and impact on the perception of
the tourism destination, its development and attractiveness have the local residents. The
local residents are the element that makes the tourism offer unique and unrepeatable.
Besides the natural and infrastructural beauties, the residents are those who give life to
the destination, and that has to be the reason to actively involve local residents into the
decisions that directly or indirectly affect their lives through frames of tourism.