Page 157 - Koderman, Miha, and Vuk Tvrtko Opačić. Eds. 2020. Challenges of tourism development in protected areas of Croatia and Slovenia. Koper, Zagreb: University of Primorska Press, Croatian Geographical Society
P. 157
development of tourism and second homes in the area of sviščaki ...
persons. Of the latter, 23 lived in the municipality of Ilirska Bistrica and 58
came from other Slovenian municipalities. In 2016, the tenants also includ-
ed 6 Italian citizens and 2 Croatian citizens (Brižan, 2016).
The occupancy of the holiday houses in Sviščaki is low and they are
empty much of the year (Francek Ivović, 2017; 2018a; Mulec, 2018) – around
20 of them seem to be in permanent use, while some are even deteriorat-
ing (Čošić, 2019). The manager of the mountain hut and some of the owners
of the holiday houses in Sviščaki believe that there is demand for accom-
modation in the holiday huts, but not many have been offered for this pur-
pose on the market (Francek Ivović, 2017; Čosić, 2019). On Booking.com
(the most famous online accommodation provider) we find only one per-
son offering to rent out a holiday home in Sviščaki. The majority of the cab-
ins’ owners perceive their property as a family heirloom that they do not
wish to share with others.
Nonetheless, some people like the idea of offering their holiday hut
for vacationers to rent while they aren’t using it. They are partly forced
to consider this option because of the high costs of maintaining the fa-
cilities and renovation in an area where summers are short, while empty
houses also decay faster. In 2017, the Tourist Cooperative Sviščaki was es-
tablished for this purpose, bringing together property owners who would
like to rent their holiday houses to tourists. Accommodation would be of-
fered under the name of the Dispersed Hotel Sviščaki. The co-operative
would be responsible for the rental of houses, administration, and all oper-
ational activities related to rental and the actual accommodation of guests,
which would relieve the owners of the burden of such obligations entirely
(Francek Ivović, 2017; 2018a; 2018b; Mulec, 2018).
The expansion of the second home settlement was, however, not ac-
companied by site development services which the municipality should
have provided. The owners of the holiday homes thus tackled the provision
of utilities for their establishments individually. As a matter of fact, holiday
dwellings require quite extensive infrastructure, as one needs to secure a
water supply, the disposal of municipal sewage and proper waste disposal,
set up electricity, ensure sufficient transport accessibility, as well as the ac-
cess to mobile telephone services and the internet (Cigale, 2009). Sviščaki
got electricity in 1972 when a 20 kV electrical power line was installed, con-
necting the settlement to Ilirska Bistrica (Slovenian Forest Service, 2013).
Two transformer stations were built that meet current power consumption
155
persons. Of the latter, 23 lived in the municipality of Ilirska Bistrica and 58
came from other Slovenian municipalities. In 2016, the tenants also includ-
ed 6 Italian citizens and 2 Croatian citizens (Brižan, 2016).
The occupancy of the holiday houses in Sviščaki is low and they are
empty much of the year (Francek Ivović, 2017; 2018a; Mulec, 2018) – around
20 of them seem to be in permanent use, while some are even deteriorat-
ing (Čošić, 2019). The manager of the mountain hut and some of the owners
of the holiday houses in Sviščaki believe that there is demand for accom-
modation in the holiday huts, but not many have been offered for this pur-
pose on the market (Francek Ivović, 2017; Čosić, 2019). On Booking.com
(the most famous online accommodation provider) we find only one per-
son offering to rent out a holiday home in Sviščaki. The majority of the cab-
ins’ owners perceive their property as a family heirloom that they do not
wish to share with others.
Nonetheless, some people like the idea of offering their holiday hut
for vacationers to rent while they aren’t using it. They are partly forced
to consider this option because of the high costs of maintaining the fa-
cilities and renovation in an area where summers are short, while empty
houses also decay faster. In 2017, the Tourist Cooperative Sviščaki was es-
tablished for this purpose, bringing together property owners who would
like to rent their holiday houses to tourists. Accommodation would be of-
fered under the name of the Dispersed Hotel Sviščaki. The co-operative
would be responsible for the rental of houses, administration, and all oper-
ational activities related to rental and the actual accommodation of guests,
which would relieve the owners of the burden of such obligations entirely
(Francek Ivović, 2017; 2018a; 2018b; Mulec, 2018).
The expansion of the second home settlement was, however, not ac-
companied by site development services which the municipality should
have provided. The owners of the holiday homes thus tackled the provision
of utilities for their establishments individually. As a matter of fact, holiday
dwellings require quite extensive infrastructure, as one needs to secure a
water supply, the disposal of municipal sewage and proper waste disposal,
set up electricity, ensure sufficient transport accessibility, as well as the ac-
cess to mobile telephone services and the internet (Cigale, 2009). Sviščaki
got electricity in 1972 when a 20 kV electrical power line was installed, con-
necting the settlement to Ilirska Bistrica (Slovenian Forest Service, 2013).
Two transformer stations were built that meet current power consumption
155
