Problems in Tourist Regionalization of Danube Basin Area in Vojvodina

Home , Apatin, Kovin, Sombor, Sremski Karlovci, Stara Pazova, Titel

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No.5 p 13-16

forms of tourism that we can expect to Problems in Tourist develop in this area are: nautical, recreational, sport, hunting, fishing, selective, etc. Regionalization of Danube Among the anthropological tourist resources, we should mention numerous Basin Area in Vojvodina tourist manifestations, many of which are international. The most prominent ones are of sport or economic character, which attract the largest number of par- ticipants and visitors from abroad. Vo- jvodina’s folklore tradition is another Romelić, J., Tomić, P. * factor which has the attributes of tourist attractiveness. It should be included in the tourist offer by creative presenta- Abstract The paper is concerned with the ojvodina’s part of Danube Basin tion. Considering cultural and historical question whether the part of Danube area includes the Danube river run- values of this area, the most prominent Basin running through Vojvodina, as a V ning through Vojvodina and the sites are, of course, the numerous mon- clearly defined geographic entity, repre- area around the river. From the ad- asteries in Fruška Gora, Middle Age for- sents a unique tourist region. Our re- ministrative point of view, this ter- tresses and old cities. The old city cen- search, as well as the research of other ritory includes the following munici- ters, with their varied architecture, rep- authors, has shown that the area next to palities: Sombor, Apatin, Odžaci, Bač, resent sites of specific milieu, which can the Danube Basin contains tourist attrac- Bačka Palanka, Bački Petrovac, Novi Sad, play a functional role in, so called, city tions and utilities distributed in such a Titel, Beočin, Sremski Karlovci, Inđija, tourism. way that they partly overlap with certain Stara Pazova, Pančevo, Kovin and Bela parts of the Danube Basin. This sort of Crkva. General Tourist and tourist physiognomy of Vojvodina’s Dan- The total surface of this area is 6812.5 ube Basin and adjoining areas, as well km2. According to the 1991 census, there Geographic as the way in which they intertwine, are 851 122 inhabitants living in the Characteristics of the has influenced our decision to set apart area. The area takes up 31.6 % of the three tourist regions: Sombor-Apatin, territory and 42.3% of the population Danube Basin Area Novi Sad-Fruska Gora and Vrsac-Dan- of Vojvodina (125 inhabitants per km2). The Vojvodina’s part of Danube Basin ube Basin. They show high tourist indi- This fact clearly shows that the Danube area is divided among three tourist re- viduality compared to the Danube Basin Basin area has got good basis for de- gions in the province: Sombor-Apatin area as a whole, and yet each of them velopment and, therefore, dense popu- region, Novi Sad-Fruška Gora region spreads over one particular part of that lation, relatively high urbanization and and Vršac-Danube Basin region. The area. The paper also gives explanations of dynamic economy. borders of the Vojvodina’s part of Dan- the above opinions. However, the concentration of tour- ube Basin area are defined by the out- ist resources in this area is not even. side borders of those municipalities that Their density gradually becomes lower the Danube runs through. The tourist Key words Danube Basin area, tourist re- as one moves away from the river. regions mentioned above spread over gions, tourist values, statistical indices However, if we consider the areas bor- the Danube Basin area in such a way dering the area of Danube Basin, we that the Sombor-Apatin region belongs can see that some of them contain to it entirely, while the other two spread important tourist attractions, like: Fruš- beyond it. The tourist region Vršac-Dan- ka Gora, the Vrsac Mountain and the ube Basin overlaps with the Danube Banat Sands. They could be included in Basin area in the municipalities Kovin the tourist and geographic physiogno- and Bela Crkva, whereas the Vršac mu- my of the Danube Basin region, which nicipality itself is found beyond the would be an improvement for its tour- Danube Basin area. The tourist region ist offer. Novi Sad-Fruska Gora overlaps with Intensive daily and weekend tourist the Danube Basin area in the following circulation is characteristic for Vojvodi- municipalities: Novi Sad, Bačka Palan- na’s Danube Basin area. This can be ex- ka, Titel, Beočin, Sremski Karlovci and plained by the density of sites suitable Inđija. The municipalities of Irig, Šid for recreation, as well as by the mobil- and Ruma are beyond the Danube Basin ity of the population living in the towns area and they belong to the tourist sub- of the Danube Basin area (Novi Sad, region of Fruška Gora. Bačka Palanka, Sombor, Pančevo, Inđija, Although the Danube Basin area as a Beočin, Sremski Karlovci, Apatin, Bela whole has a more prominent geograph- Crkva, etc). In addition to this, all the ic physiognomy than any of the three centers of tourist emission which are lo- tourist regions mentioned above, most cated on an one-day distance from the authors do not recognize it as a separate * Jovan Romelić, Pavle Tomić, University in Novi Sad, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Danube Basin play an important role in tourist region. The present regionaliza- Institute of Geography, Tourismology the tourist demand. tion is a result of rigorous criteria in the and Hotel Management, Trg Dositeja Considering specific characteristics Spatial Plan of Serbia made in 1995 and Obradovića 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia of natural tourist potentials, the various the research done by some authors in 13 pzc Area in Vojvodina Problems in Tourist Regionalization of Danube Basin Danube of Regionalization in Tourist Problems

Figure 1. Propagation of Danube Area in Vojvodina Part

1997, Čomic and Pjevač being the most Danube Basin area? the river. They are scattered or they ap- precise among them. Primarily, there is the river Danube, pear as a curiosity of certain area near Objects, features and processes with- which has formed the terrain typical for the river Danube. in each of the region can gradually trans- plain rivers, thanks to its erosive and ac- If we were to adopt the above form, disappear or pass into the adjoin- cumulative activities. This terrain has mentioned tourist regionalization, that ing region. Therefore, the borders are specific morphologic, hydrographic, bio- would mean that the Danube Basin area sometimes hard to define with precision, geographic and pedologic features. Al- does not have a character of tourist mac- except when defined by a relief or geo- though the mentioned factors have had ro-region. The main reason is that the graphic features like Fruška Gora, Banat their share in forming the river, it was three tourist regions spread beyond the Sands or Vršac Mountain. In these areas, the river that later took the dominant borders of Danube Basin. This area is the borders of tourist values and activi- role in the process of genesis of its en- full of details taking the shape of tour- ties are obvious. vironment. It has influenced the gener- ist attractiveness, reception, communi- al geographic physiognomy of the area cational, infrastructural and suprastruc- The Problem of Borders including objects and features which tural objects. All of them need careful have certain attractive attributes – es- valorization, reconstruction and precise Between the Danube thetic, recreational, historical, etc. The planning, which can be achieved only Basin Area and Present river and its valley have largely contrib- within certain regions, since they offer uted to intensive population, economic more possibilities for satisfying differ- Tourist Regions activities and the creation of a relatively ent tourist demands than the others. If we want to clear the dilemma wheth- tight network of settlements. These are The big advantage of the Danube er Vojvodina’s Danube Basin area repre- the spatial units which emanate tour- Basin is its geographic location, charac- sents a unique and independent region ists looking for recreation and cultural terized by the Danube river and impor- or whether it must be divided among relaxation. tant roads lying along it. From the more the present tourist regions in Vojvodina, The attractions mentioned above and general point of view, all these regions, we should first give an answer to the fol- certain forms of tourism are the com- including Danube Basin area, belong to lowing question: which geographic ob- mon elements for the Danube Basin. On the East European tourist region. In ad- jects, features and processes, relevant the other hand, there are some elements dition, all three regions and the Dan- for tourism, are common for the whole which cannot be found all the way along ube Basin area have strong centers of 14 pzc Tomić, P. Romelić, J.

 The Sombor-Apatin tourist region  The Novi Sad-Fruska Gora tourist region  The Vršac tourist region

Figure 2. Danube Area of Vojvodina Part and Tourism Regions

tourist emission. The local population sent a unique well-known tourist re- lands. Hydrographic resources include: shows firm habit of tourist movements. gion. The individual features of the pres- Bajski canal, Barački Dunavac, Monoš- In the summer, for example, the recre- ent tourist regions will survive, but they torski Dunavac, Kupisinski Dunavac, ation localities with swimming facilities will not be as obvious as today. Petreški Dunavac and Srebrnički Du- are crowded by people from the local navac. contraction zone. Tourist Features of the Other specific features are represent- Tourist regions which border on each ed by numerous sand accesses to the other, and form an integral part of the Regions Which Overlap river which can be used as beaches. Danube Basin area, are also different With Vojvodina’s They are still in their natural state, from each other regarding the level of which is their advantage, according to activation of tourist values. Tourist val- Danube Basin Stojanovic (2000, 118), because “it inten- ues of the Novi Sad-Fruška Gora region Present tourist regions have the charac- sifies the effect of autochthonous land- are highly activated, while, in the Vršac- ter of heterogenous area in which tour- scape”. Danube Basin region, the activation of ism plays a side role in the economic ac- This region is the location of the Juna- tourist values is not particularly high, tivities. This is, primarily, the outcome kovic Spa valuable for its thermo-miner- except for the lake near Bela Crkva. Sim- of their position of unknown and, there- al waters, which is typical of most Vo- ilarly, the Sombor-Apatin region has fore, only potential tourist regions. jvodina’s spas. many potential values, which still do The Sombor-Apatin tourist region ex- The region is characterized by excep- not have their full application in tour- tends from Bačka Palanka to Hungarian tional ecosystem values. Its meadows ism. border, including canals and swamps, and swamps, as well as its priceless Our hypothesis is that the border hunting grounds, the Junaković Spa and geo-inheritance have been the reason zones will gradually join one of the tour- the towns of Sombor, Apatin and Bez- for proclaiming this area a natural park ist regions or they will be formed as dan. (Čomic, Pjevač, 1997) This region is called “Upper Danube Basin”. In the fu- separate taxonomic units with tourist characterized by hydrographic features ture, it will be promoted into Special function, since they have some tourist created in the process of meandering, nature reserve, as a part of MAV proj- resources themselves. Thus, the whole i.e. moving of the Danube’s riverbed. ect, which also includes the ecosystems Danube Basin Region, and not only the There fore, there is a big number of me- of the rivers Mura, Drava and Danube. Vojvodina’s part, will probably repre- anders, stagnant tributaries and sand is- (Stojanović, 2000,119) 15 pzc

Big stock of wild animals in this area forms of tourism, based on the different gions spread beyond the borders of Dan- is a good basis for development of hunt- functions of the city itself: economic, ad- ube Basin. This area is full of details taking tourism in the hunting grounds of ministrative, cultural, etc. ing the shape of tourist attractiveness, Apatin swamp and Kozara (near Backi The main characteristic of this region, reception, communicational, infrastruc- Monostor). The area is even more at- which sets it apart from all the others, tural and suprastructural objects. All of tractive due to the presence of 267 bird is the Fruska Gora mountain. It is the them need careful valorization, recon- species, which is a precondition for the ideal place for sport and recreation, as struction and precise planning, which development of bird watching tourism. well as various cultural manifestations. can be achieved only within certain re- Area in Vojvodina The cultural and historical inheritance In addition, the whole mountain repre- gions, since they offer more possibilities is concentrated mainly in Sombor and sents a national park with many possi- for satisfying different tourist demands Apatin. bilities for the development of selective than the others. The Novi Sad-Fruška Gora tourist region tourism. includes the city of Novi Sad, a big tour- The Vrsac-Danube Basin tourist region References ist and urban center, the Fruška Gora includes one part of the Banat Sands, mountain, a potential tourist center of the Vršac mountain, the rivers Karaš Büschenfeld, H. (1999): Wirtschaftliche the region, and the Danube river, from and Nera, a part of the Danube river, the Transformationprocesse in der nach- Bačka Palanka to the mouth of the Tisa border crossing Vatin and the towns of folgestaaten Jugoslawiens, Europa river (together with Bačka Palanka and Vršac and Bela Crkva. This is a unique Regionaln, Nummer 4, Institut für Irig). The Tikvara lake is located near region: the alluvial plane along the Dan- Länderkunde, Leipzig, Seite 23-38. Bačka Palanka. It was valorized and, as ube here is not as attractive as in other Čomić, Đ., Pjevač, N. (1997): Turistička a result, a sport and recreation center parts of the river; however, the region geografija, Savezni centar za was built at the lake. The part of the includes the Lakes of Bela Crkva which unapređenje ugostteljstva i hotelijst- Danube river from Bačka Palanka to represent a unique and well-known va, Beograd. Novi Sad is rich with sand islands (ada): tourist complex. Another attractive lo- Jovanović, G. (2000): Turistički po- Šarengradska ada, Govneš ada, Neštin- cality is the Banat Sands, which offers tencijali vojvođanskog Podunavlja Problems in Tourist Regionalization of Danube Basin Danube of Regionalization in Tourist Problems ska ada, the Velika ada, Čerevićka ada, many possibilities for the development i mogućnoti njegove valorizacije, Šešićeva ada, etc. They do not have a of selective tourism. Prirodno-matematički fakultet, Insti- tourist function, but they could be used Beyond the Danube Basin area, this tut za geografiju, Novi Sad. for the development of controlled recre- region includes the Vrsac mountain – a Romelić, J., Tomić, P. (2000): Udeo tur- ational activities. On the banks of Novi locality whose functions aim towards izma i ugostiteljstva u privredi Vo- Sad, there are several beaches - among sport and recreational tourism. jvodine, Turizam, broj 4, Savremene which Štrand is the biggest - and the tendencije u turizmu 2000, Prirodno- well-known recreation locality “Ribar- Conclusion matematički fakultet, Institut za geo- sko ostrvo”. grafiju, Novi Sad, strana 24-29. An attractive hydrographic object in Tourist regions which border on each Romelić, J., Ćurčić, N. (2001): Turistička this region is the Kovilj swamp, one of other, and form an integral part of the geografija Jugoslavije, Prirodno- the Danube rukavac. This complex in- Danube Basin area, are also different matematički fakultet, Institut za geo- cludes numerous canals, stagnant tribu- from each other regarding the level of grafiju, Novi Sad, strana 1-252. taries and ponds, which are surround- activation of tourist values. Tourist val- Statistički pregled po opštinama Srbije, ed by rich flora and fauna. The swamp ues of the Novi Sad-Fruška Gora region Republički zavod za statistiku, Beo- has a status of Special nature reserve, are highly activated, while, in the Vršac- grad, 1980-2000. but it also serves as a nature reserve for Danube Basin region, the activation of Stojanović, V. (2000): Turistički po- science research. tourist values is not particularly high, tencijali Podunavlja u Bačkoj, Zborn- The hunting tourism is quite devel- except for the lake near Bela Crkva. Sim- ik instituta za geografiju, Prirodno- oped, especially in the hunting ground ilarly, the Sombor-Apatin region has matematički fakultet, Institut za geo- Karađorđevo. In addition to hunting, many potential values, which still do grafiju, Novi Sad, strana 116-130. the locality offers fishing, photo-safari, not have their full application in tour- Winkler, P. (1999): Indikatoren zur visiting horse stables and sightseeing ism. Efassung regionaler Problemlagen, on charriots and boats. The Danube Basin area does not have Österraichisches Institut für City tourism is mainly connected a character of tourist macro-region. The Raumplanung, Wien. with Novi Sad and includes various main reason is that the three tourist re-