TOURISM IN FUNCTION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA Tourism as a Generator of Employment (TISC 2019) – Thematic proceedings II IMPACT OF TOURISM ON THE QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE FIELD OF PROTECTED AREAS Milan Po čuča1; Jelena Matijaševi ć-Obradovi ć2; Abstract The protected natural areas are assets of great importance for the development of tourism. Bearing in mind the fact that tourism, in addition to positive impacts, in many ways also exerts a negative influence on the environment, especially in the field of natural resources and biodiversity, it is interesting to consider the influence of tourism on the protected natural areas and the reason why the monitoring of protected areas in Serbia is necessary. The aforesaid is particularly important as the sustainable management of the protected natural areas is an important condition of continuous development of tourist turnover. The research section of the paper deals with the number of individual protected natural assets in Serbia in the period from 2015 to 2017 and touches upon the ecologically significant areas. The paper applies an analytical method, a deductive method and the basic quantitative analysis of data. The research in this paper was based on the official data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia and the Environmental Protection Agency. Key Words: tourism, environment, protected natural areas, Republic of Serbia JEL Classification: F64, O13, Q56, Z32 Introduction Tourism is an activity which in modern society has a significant impact on the economic, social, functional and manifest structural characteristics of a specific area (Todorovi ć & Bjeljac, 2007, p. 135). It is a fact that 1 Milan Po čuča, PhD , Full professor, Faculty of Law for Commerce and Judiciary in Novi Sad, Geri Karolja Street no. 1, Novi Sad 21000, The Republic of Serbia, E-mail: [email protected] 2 Jelena Matijaševi ć-Obradovi ć, PhD, Associate professor, Faculty of Law for Commerce and Judiciary in Novi Sad, Geri Karolja Street no. 1, Novi Sad 21000, The Republic of Serbia, E-mail: [email protected] 553 TOURISM IN FUNCTION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA Tourism as a Generator of Employment (TISC 2019) – Thematic proceedings II tourism has gradually grown from an optional pursuit into an inescapable and extremely important need of the modern man. As a result, we could say that tourism is one of the most complex economic and social phenomena of the modern world. The development of tourism has been stimulated by the globalisation process. Owing to globalisation and its effects, tourism has been undergoing a powerful expansion. According to Arnaut (2009), the globalisation process has resulted in tourism taking on new dimensions on a global scale. On the other hand, the consequences of the effect of globalisation in the field of tourism development are numerous, including among other things multiple effects, both positive and negative, on the environment. In the context of emphasising the importance of tourism in the introduction, it should be noted that tourism is a branch of industry with a significant share in the world economy. As stated by Stani ć and Vuji ć (2016), "tourism covers 30% of the global export of services, and 6% of the total export of goods and services, and as an export category, on the global scale it ranks just below oil, chemical and food industries” (p. 14). With a view to properly valorising the effect of tourism on a global scale, Bote Gomez (1993) points out that the income from tourism has played a key role in financing industrialisation in many countries. In other words, tourism has enabled the import of machines and technology which were required to stimulate the economy of many countries (Padilla, 1988). The World Tourism Organization has established, on the basis of detailed analysis, that tourism on a broader scale, and the needs and expectations of users of tourism offers "have been focusing less and less on "tourism under the Sun”, with the growing interest in unspoilt nature, and a greater preference for natural resources and the cultural heritage of the countryside, areas outside urban environments” (Muhi, 2010, p. 476). Primarily owing to the conserved nature and other aspects of a healthy environment, Serbia has significant assets and multiple options for continuous tourism development, in particular in the field of rural tourism. Namely, as stated by Cvijanović et al. (2017), the considerable potential for the development of tourism in Serbia is especially associated with rural areas (p. 872). The fact that tourism has a significant impact on the development of rural areas is also emphasised by Ćiri ć et al. (2014, p. 26). 554 TOURISM IN FUNCTION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA Tourism as a Generator of Employment (TISC 2019) – Thematic proceedings II In view of the aforesaid, the positive effects of tourism are multiple, not only on the local, but on the global level as well. Namely, in its primary concept tourism has included the four important aspects of sustainable development: the ecological, social, cultural and economic (Po čuča et al., 2017). With regard to the ecological aspect, we can certainly identify some global trends such as the demand for ecological resources, a higher social, as well as individual ecological awareness, more successful and better organised international cooperation in the field of environment protection. Besides the positive, there are also some highly noticeable negative effects of tourism on the environment, which are primarily manifested in the form of pollution of environment elements (the air, water, land), a reduction in the natural agricultural areas, the destruction of the flora and fauna, a degradation of culture-historical monuments, crowding, a spatial population redistribution, as well as a banalization of the area (Lazarevi ć, 2017, p. 138-139). Given the fact that tourism has an indisputable effect on the economic valorisation of resources, employment, the living standards in a particular area, as well as demographic and social effects, in addition to the relevant theoretical considerations, the subject of the paper also includes a quantitative analysis of the official statistical data regarding the kinds and numbers of the protected natural resources in the Serbian territory, as well as an observation of all the ecologically significant areas in Serbia. We have applied the analytical method in theoretical content analysis, the deductive method in drawing conclusions, and a basic quantitative data analysis in the part concerning research. The research has been based on the official data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia and the Environmental Protection Agency. The analysis of the kinds and numbers of protected natural areas in the Serbia territory has been performed for the period 2015-2017. Literature review Tourism is primarily a planned and motivated behaviour of users of tourism services, with the expectations of the traveller playing a key role in travel decision-making. It is therefore emphasised that the needs, attitudes and motives of tourists are of crucial importance in this context (Wall & Mathison, 2006, p. 45). In analysing tourism, Jovi čić (2000) states that tourism is an activity which valorises some spatial elements 555 TOURISM IN FUNCTION OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA Tourism as a Generator of Employment (TISC 2019) – Thematic proceedings II which are marginal to many other industries (p. 17). Jovi čić (1999) also defines tourism as a "set of relationships and phenomena related to movement and consumption outside the place of permanent residence, with the aim of satisfying recreational and cultural needs” (p. 17). Similarly, Vidu čić (2007) states that tourism is a set of relationships and phenomena which result from travels and stays of visitors in a particular place, if these stays are not intended to set up permanent residence and if they are not associated with any commercial activity on their part. Looking at tourism from an individual standpoint, Tomka (2012) indicates that "tourism is no longer travel for this and that, but a whole series of phenomena, relationships, effects which result from a meeting of receptive spaces, phenomena and processes in them, as well as the life of the local population and temporary visitors – tourists, under the influence of a large number of different needs, motives and expectations, with the aim of acquiring new experiences” (p. 16). In defining tourism, some theorists quote its multiple positive effects in different areas. As stated in the introduction, tourism has an unquestionable effect on the overall economic development of society. Tourism plays a key role in local economic development (Rogerson & Rogerson, 2014; Karampela et al., 2016, p. 161). Primarily, tourism can be treated as an industry branch which promotes both economic growth and equality, including the application of local inputs – the local resources, as well as the engagement of the local manpower (Mansury & Hara, 2007, p. 213). In less developed regions, local communities can derive significant economic-social benefits from tourism (Zhenhua, 2003, pp. 465-466). It follows from the aforesaid that tourism is not only recognised as an effect of economic development, but also as an economic development factor (Stani ć & Vuji ć, 2016, p. 14). As such, tourism has a considerable impact on the economic, social, cultural and natural environment. Due to this effect in particular, it has a duty to establish sustainable and responsible development, with the ultimate goal of preserving the vital values of an area. In this context in particular, we arrive at the concepts of sustainable development of tourism and ecotourism as a specific form of alternative tourism, as, according to Mili ćevi ć et al. (2013), "contemporary tourism implies that each of the activities within this complex system must be aimed at safeguarding one’s own interests through a controlled use of natural resources” (p.