27. Mednarodna Konferenca O Razvoju Organizacijskih Znanosti

27. Mednarodna konferenca o razvoju organizacijskih znanosti ZNANJE ZA TRAJNOSTNI RAZVOJ 19. - 21. Marec 2008, Portorož, Slovenija

Determinants of sustainable tourism: the case of the Istrian County

Marija Bušelić, Ph. D., Associate Professor Kristina Afrić Rakitovac, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

University of Juraj Dobrila, Pula Department of Economics and Tourism «Dr. Mijo Mirković « [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract

Tourism is nowadays one of the most important economic activities in the world. Beside significant economic effects, it has a significant physical impact on the environment, as well as social and cultural impact. So, tourism development can significantly influence the quality of life of the local community as well as the state of the environment. The concept of sustainable development implicates economic development which enables achieving social sustainability and carrying capacity assessment. Therefore, those tourist destinations which realise the concept of sustainable development will increase their attractiveness and competitiveness in a long run. Considering all that, the aim of the paper was to define determinants of sustainable tourism taking the Istrian County as a case study. The authors have used the SWOT analysis as a research tool. It has shown the importance of developing sustainable tourism in the County, as a manner of development which can build tourism development on regional strengths, overcome weaknesses that currently constrain it, make the most of available opportunities and minimize the potential impact of threats.

Key words: sustainable tourism, competitiveness, SWOT analysis, Istrian County

1. Introduction

Modern tourism is a social phenomenon which, including and connecting in direct or indirect ways numerous economic activities, realises significant economic effects. Tourists are nowadays more and more educated, informed about the destination they chose, they are environmentally conscious, interested in “value for money”, etc.

Besides economic, tourism has significant physical impact on the environment. Although tourism as an economic activity is not one of the biggest polluters, it uses a lot of space, it is a consumer of resources (especially water and energy) and a source of pressure on the

1 environment (especially due to consuming food and producing garbage). On the other side, the space, especially protected nature and biodiversity are significant elements of attractiveness of tourism destinations. Therefore, one of the most important preconditions of tourism development in the long run is a responsible attitude towards the environment. The bearers of tourism supply have a very important role in that. Their impact on environment and tourists as well will depend on their environmental awareness and knowledge. Besides the stated, tourism has a significant social and cultural impact, bringing different positive and negative changes in a tourist destination. Tourism development can significantly influence the quality of life of the local community. Therefore, those tourist destinations which realise the concept of sustainable development will increase their attractiveness and competitiveness in a long run.

Considering all that, the aim of the paper was to define determinants of sustainable tourism taking the Istrian County as a case study. The authors have used the SWOT analysis as a research tool.

2. Sustainable tourism

Tourism is nowadays one of the most important economic, as well as social, cultural and environmental phenomena on a global scale. According to UNWTO 846 million international tourist arrivals were realised in 2006. The number of tourists, at the global scale, is constantly increasing, despite fears of terrorism, health crises and natural disasters. The average growth rate of international tourist arrivals between 1950 and 2006 was 6.5%.1 The mentioned institution, in its document Tourism 2020 Vision, estimates that international arrivals are expected to reach 1.6 billion by the year 2020.

Considering that it connects, in a direct and indirect ways, different economic activities, it is one of the most important economic activities in the world. The international tourism receipts in 2006 totalled US$ 733 billion (584 billion euros), or 2 US$ billion a day. It represents 35 % of the world's export of services.2

Europe is still the most attractive tourism region in the world. It has realised about 54% of all international tourist arrivals. Also, it has reached about 51 % of the world total tourism receipts. In spite of the high level of competitiveness in tourism on the global scale, the tourism demand of the Mediterranean Europe is still very attractive. It has realised almost one fifth (19.5%) of all international tourism arrivals in 2006.

Besides economic, tourism development brings numerous other changes and challenges in the tourism destination. It is especially so considering its physical impact on the environment. Besides the processes of industrialisation and urbanisation it is one of the most significant sources of pressures on the environment. The impact depends on the carrying capacity assessment, form of tourism which is developed, environmental awareness of bearers of tourism supply, number of tourists, tourist's habits and environmental awareness, etc. It consists of air, water and soil pollution, use of resources, production of garbage, traffic jams, landscape deviations, etc.

1 UNWTO (2007): Tourism Highlights, Edition 2007, UNWTO, pp.2-3

2 UNWTO (2007): Tourism Highlights, Edition 2007, UNWTO, pp.4-6

2 Tourism influences changes of the environment mostly at the local level. But, some impacts occur at the regional, national or even global scale. For example, tourism, due to the dislocation of the tourism demand from tourism supply, has a significant impact on climate changes at the global scale. On the other side, tourism development depends on the quality of the environment, on its preserved biodiversity and natural landscape. So, it is a great challenge for policy makers to manage tourism development taking in consideration this dichotomy.

Beside that, tourism development brings many social and cultural changes in the tourism destination. On the one hand it enables social interactions and intercultural communication between tourists and the host community and on the other it can result in increased levels of criminality, destruction of the cultural heritage, deepen the development gap between different social groups in the community, etc.

Tourists are nowadays more and more educated, sophisticated, rational and selective. Most of them are informed about the destination they chose, environmentally conscious and interested in “value for money”. Some of the most important trends in tourism demand nowadays derive from the facts that tourists are interested in shorter holidays in few times a year and that they are interested in visiting destinations which are characterised with original supply, autochthonous products, environmental protection and safety.

Besides all that, policy makers are nowadays faced with the challenge of sustainability. It is especially important for tourism, because it has numerous impacts on the community and the state of the environment in which it has developed.

According to the UNWTO, sustainability principles refer to “the environmental, economic and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability.“ So, sustainable tourism should: 1. Make optimal use of environmental resources in order to maintain essential ecological processes and protect natural resources and biodiversity; 2. Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of the host communities, respect their cultural heritage and traditional values as well as contribute to inter-cultural understanding; 3. Ensure long-term economic development, providing economic benefits to all stakeholders and contribute to poverty alleviation.3

Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are not restricted only to some forms of tourism (such as eco-tourism or rural tourism), but they can be applied to all forms of tourism. They have to be adapted to specific characteristics of the tourism destination. Sustainable tourism can be applied in various tourism destinations at different development phases.

Also, sustainable tourism development requires “informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building”. It is important to point out that obtaining sustainable tourism is a continuous

3 UNEP and UNWTO(2005): Making Tourism More Sustainable: Guide for Policy Makers, UNEP and UNWTO, p.11

3 process, which has constantly to be adapted to changes in all relevant development parameters.

Therefore, those tourist destinations which realise the concept of sustainable development will have increased attractiveness and competitiveness in a long run.

3. SWOT Analysis of Sustainable Tourism: the case of the Istrian County

Croatia is a Mediterranean country with a long tradition as a host country. In 2006. it has realised 8.7 million of international tourism arrivals, which was 1.9 % of all international tourism arrivals in Europe. In the same year, it has realised 7.9 billion US$, which was 2.1% of all international tourism receipts in Europe.4 Croatian tourism is characterised with a high level of loyalty of guests. Namely, according to the surveys conducted by the Croatian Institute for Tourism, more than 69 % of guests have visited Croatia three or more times.5

The Istrian County is the most developed tourism county in Croatia.6 During the period of transition, 30% o all tourism arrivals in Croatia and 35 % of all tourism overnights were in the County. It has about 225.000 beds in hotels, tourism resorts, camps and private accommodation, i.e. about 30 % of all accommodation facilities in Croatia. Beside that, it is the only Croatian county which had developed the Master plan of tourism development. It has developed much more different forms of selective tourism, such as nautical, agritourism, cultural, eco-tourism, sports and recreation, hunting, fishing, bicycling, speleological tourism, etc, compared to other counties in Croatia. Considering all that, the authors of the paper were interested in defining if the already existing tourism development patterns in the Istrian County are harmonised with the concept of sustainable development. They have used the SWOT analysis as a research tool.

The SWOT analysis is a systematic evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which is made in order to identify the most promising development possibilities at the company, community, regional or national level.

Namely, the increasing dynamicity which is present on the market stimulate/force entrepreneurs to carefully choose the way in which they will compete with their major competitors. Each subject has to take in consideration the internal and external environment. Considering that, this analysis can be understood as the review of internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats the subject is faced with. The results of the analysis will indicate the features of the already existing tourism supply related to tourism demand and will help in the creation of the development strategy.

Table 1. SWOT Analysis of Sustainable Tourism: the Case of the Istrian County STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES

4 UNWTO (2007): Tourism Highlights, Edition 2007, UNWTO, p. 6 5 Institute for Tourism (2005): Attitudes and Expenditures of Tourists in Croatia – TOMAS Summer 2004, Institute for Tourism, Zagreb, p. 39 6 Croatia is divided in 20 counties and the capital town, Zagreb.

4 - rich biological diversity - insufficient multiplicative effects of tourism - natural beauty and attractive landscapes on overall county economy because of - high quality of water of the Adriatic sea insufficient correlation with other domestic - favourable climate conditions economic activities - rich cultural and historical heritage - seasonality - picturesquesness of towns and places - insufficient motivation, information and - proximity of emitive markets knowledge about the advantages of the - non over built-up areas implementation of the concept of - tradition in tourism development sustainable tourism in tourism development - maritime and rural tourism development - lack of self regulation instruments in - different selective forms of tourism environmental management - continuous improving of categorisation and - insufficient environmental awareness of quality level of hotels and other managers in hotels accommodation facilities - lack of permanent and competent personnel - private accommodation categorization in - unsatisfactory destination tourism supply order to achieve standardization and a elements (pleasure and fun, sport and higher quality level through the project recreation, shopping possibilities) “Domus Bonus" - insufficient cultural and historical heritage - autochthonous products branding (olive oil, valorisation wine, lavender, honey, truffles) - insufficient environmental awareness of - olive oil, wine, lavender and honey routes local population - County incentives for development of - unsuitable out-city traffic infrastructure SMEs in tourism and hospitality - traffic jams in urban centres/lack of parking - many Blue flags for marinas and beaches places - guests loyalty - insufficient development of compatible - foreign language knowledge traffic forms (marine, railway, air) - friendliness - depopulation and demographic growing old - personal safety in the rural part of the County - own water springs - master plan vs. sustainable development - establishment of the system of waste - inbuilt sewage systems management in the County - health services in tourism ambulances OPPORTUNITIES THREATS - permanent interest for Mediterranean - constructions in discordance with space tourism offer planning - new trends in tourism demand - air, water and soil pollution - demand growth for autochthonous products - quality tourism personnel leaving to other and biological food countries - tourism clusters development in accordance - competitive Mediterranean destinations with sustainable development (France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, - rural tourism development which will Tunis, Egypt, etc.) preserve authenticity of supply - low/negative population growth in emitive - conceiving new tourism supply elements European countries - valorisation of existing military - EU restrictions in agriculture infrastructure - climate changes - tourism season prolongation - genetic food modification - implementation of lifelong learning in accordance with sustainable development - possibilities for employment increasing - conceptually and strategically oriented FDI harmonised with sustainable development - EU projects and programs participation - use of renewable energy Source: Authors research

5 Considering that tourism development in accordance with sustainable development can result in obtaining significant competitive advantages, the SWOT analysis can be a very important tool for finding answers on fundamental strategic questions such as:

 which strategic options can be realised taking into consideration the existing development factors in the region;  which options cannot be realised;  which resources should be built and developed in the future, etc.

In this paper the SWOT analysis is used as a tool to estimate environmental and market possibilities of tourism development in the Istrian County in accordance with the concept of sustainable development. It has taken into consideration the present and future demands and changes in its surroundings. The analysis indicates how to build on regional and community strengths, overcome weaknesses that currently constrain tourism development, make the most of available opportunities and minimize the potential impact of threats on present and future development.

4. Determinants of sustainable tourism: the case of the Istrian County

Considering that tourism is one of the most important economic activities of the County, the implementation of sustainable development will contribute to further tourism development in many ways. Cautious relation toward the natural resources will contribute that their long-term attractiveness will be preserved. That is important considering that natural beauties are still the most important motive for most tourists in choosing the County.

The implementation of sustainable development will contribute to more eco-efficient business of entrepreneurs who are directly involved in tourism supply, as well as of those who are indirectly involved. Responsible attitude and respect toward the employees, in accordance with the concept of corporate social responsibility, could increase their satisfaction and motivation at work. It is especially important in tourism due to it is characterised with the direct contact between tourists and employees.

The application of the concept of sustainable development at the regional and local level could contribute to development of artisans in the quite neglected production of autochthonous souvenirs, which could significantly enrich the tourism supply. Due to the concept of sustainable development consider respect for authenticity, its application can further improve the development of rural tourism in the inland part of the County. Also, the stimulation of development of biological agriculture would contribute to satisfy the demands of tourists as well as of local inhabitants.

Considering the results of the SWOT analysis, the significant determinants of sustainable tourism for the Istrian County will be as follows: - preservation of biological diversity and the quality of the Adriatic Sea; - space planning in order to achieve long-term sustainability in accordance with carrying capacity assessment; - proper valorisation of the cultural and historical heritage; - tourism clusters development in accordance with sustainable development;

6 - permanent, long life education of human resources employed in tourism; - stimulate the development of small and medium hospitality enterprises; - improve the categorisation and standardisation of accommodation facilities; - conceptual and strategic direction to foreign direct investments in accordance with sustainable development; - stimulate the further development of selective forms of tourism; - increase the supply of autochthonous products; - valorisation of existing army infrastructure for tourism supply; - development of complementary means of transport (maritime, train, airspace); - introducing the system of waste management at the regional level harmonised with sustainable development; - implementation of economic instruments of environmental management in tourism and hospitality companies; - motivation on implementation of self-regulative instruments of environmental management in tourism and hospitality companies; - improve the environmental awareness of the local people; - protect the health and safety of tourists, etc.

The realisation of these determinants will result in decreasing seasonality in tourism, preserving the environmental balance, increasing competitiveness, tourism consumption through “invisible export” and employment. All that will result in the increase of multiplicative effects of tourism on the regional and national economy.

The realisation of sustainable tourism is a long-term and complex process. One of the most important preconditions of it is the application of the participation principle, i.e. the active attendance of all relevant stakeholders. Namely, there are different subject who are responsible for the realisation of the stated determinants. A very important one should be the state which can by means of horizontal measures of economic policy influence the realisation of sustainable tourism. Namely, the Ministry of Tourism has developed a strategy report “Croatian Tourism Development by 2010”. Although one of the basic principles of the Report is sustainable development, the state has to define measures of their more effective implementation into practice.

Regional government and the local communities have an important role in achieving sustainability due to they are better acquainted with development possibilities and development barriers. The creation and implementation of the Local Agenda 21 at the regional as well as local level could be an effective way of realising sustainable tourism as a part of the strategic development of the whole economy in accordance with sustainable development.

The educational system has an important role in achieving sustainable tourism, because it can increase the awareness and knowledge about the issues of sustainability (environmental and social ones). It can also be supported by the media.

At the company level, as the results of few researches indicate, the companies which are directly related to tourism form the County do not have a sufficient level of information, motivation and knowledge in order to use sustainable development as a source of long-term competitive advantage. An indicator of that is that not even one company from the hotel industry in the County has introduced the ISO 14001.

7 The recognition of the Istrian County as a sustainably conscious tourism destination will contribute to its image on the tourism market. Further, achieving the image of environmentally and socially conscious tourism destination which offers authentic, quality and autochthons products will contribute to repositioning the Croatian tourism on the global tourism market.

5. Concluding remarks

The aim of this paper was to define determinants of sustainable tourism taking the Istrian County as a case study. The authors have used the SWOT analysis as a research tool.

Namely, the concept of sustainability is important for the present and future tourism development, as well as for the economic and overall development of the County. As a result of the implementation of sustainable tourism development the County will be recognised as sustainable tourism destination, which would help the repositioning of the tourism supply of the County. Besides, it will enable a more efficient business of firms which are directly and indirectly involved in tourism supply. All that will result in the achievement of a more efficient and competitive economy at the local and regional level in the long run.

Sustainable tourism development will also result in better quality of life of the local inhabitants, increased tourist satisfaction and achieving and maintaining the balance of the environment.

References:

1. Institute for Tourism (2005): Attitudes and expenditures of tourists in Croatia – TOMAS summer 2004, Institute for Tourism, Zagreb 2. Pavlić, I. (2004): Modern Tendencies in the Development of Global Tourism and Globalisation Process, Naše more, Journal of Marine Sciences, Dubrovnik, No.5, pp. 214-116 3. UNEP and UNWTO(2005): Making Tourism More Sustainable: Guide for Policy Makers, UNEP and UNWTO 4.UN WTO (1995): Tourism Vision 2020, UNWTO 5. UNWTO (2007): Tourism Highlights, Edition 2007, UNWTO 6.Vukonić, B.; Keča, K. (2001): Turizam i razvoj: pojam, načela, postupci, Ekonomski fakultet Zagreb i Mikrorad Zagreb 7. WTTC (2007): TSA Regional Reports – European Union 2007, World Travel and Tourism Council 8. xxx (2007): Report of the Tourism Sustainability Group «Action for More Sustainable European Tourism», February 2007.