Page 221 - 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. 221
the interrelation between development, management, and management issues ...
It is important to emphasise how the aforementioned numbers exclu-
sively regard visitors to the zone of the fundamental phenomenon of the
Park, which is near the two main entrance points. Excess and (spatially and
temporally) discordant development of tourism in the Park is an increas-
ingly severe threat to the sustainable development of the area, whereby spe-
cial attention should be given to the atrophied settlement structure, the
corresponding weakening of traditional local identities and the multi-fac-
eted, unique localities within the Park, as well as processes of anthropogen-
ic eutrophication.
Contemporary tourism development—in the second developmental
cycle—in terms of spatial transformation has been characterised by intense
growth in the number of private accommodation objects, which has had a
tendency to encroach on the most sensitive parts of the Park (e.g. Plitvica
Selo along the Plitvica River—which is the source of the large waterfall).
Thus, the amount of private accommodation has grown with the number of
visitors over the last 20 years, especially in the immediate area of the Park.
The aforementioned Plitvica Selo, which has recorded the highest level of
growth in private accommodation, should not be allowed to undergo a new
phase of tourism urbanisation that would be characterised by the construc-
tion of new objects as well as the renewal of existing ones.
Private accommodation has expressly seasonal characteristics, and its
demands, particularly on the water supply during summer months, heav-
ily burden the area’s resource base. Furthermore, this burdens the drain-
age and sewer systems, as well as the area’s waste management capacity
(Opačić et al., 2005). The scope of the problem becomes clearer when it is re-
garded in terms of the spatial distribution of private accommodation with-
in the Park, in which the immediate area of the National Park is especial-
ly pressured.
Finally, it should be pointed out that, in keeping with knowledge
gained from the last few decades of overuse of the Park’s resources, this
phase of expansion could mature into a new phase of development that
would be oriented toward improving the quality of the existing tourism
supply and increasing awareness of the area’s value via education (regard-
ing the environment as well as the traditional significance of Plitvice Lakes
and its surroundings). This would go hand in hand with renewing existing
hospitality objects in the area of the Park, building more recreational paths,
eutrophication of the environment of the lakes. This is also in the interest of provid-
ing a better experience for visitors as crowding is reduced.
219
It is important to emphasise how the aforementioned numbers exclu-
sively regard visitors to the zone of the fundamental phenomenon of the
Park, which is near the two main entrance points. Excess and (spatially and
temporally) discordant development of tourism in the Park is an increas-
ingly severe threat to the sustainable development of the area, whereby spe-
cial attention should be given to the atrophied settlement structure, the
corresponding weakening of traditional local identities and the multi-fac-
eted, unique localities within the Park, as well as processes of anthropogen-
ic eutrophication.
Contemporary tourism development—in the second developmental
cycle—in terms of spatial transformation has been characterised by intense
growth in the number of private accommodation objects, which has had a
tendency to encroach on the most sensitive parts of the Park (e.g. Plitvica
Selo along the Plitvica River—which is the source of the large waterfall).
Thus, the amount of private accommodation has grown with the number of
visitors over the last 20 years, especially in the immediate area of the Park.
The aforementioned Plitvica Selo, which has recorded the highest level of
growth in private accommodation, should not be allowed to undergo a new
phase of tourism urbanisation that would be characterised by the construc-
tion of new objects as well as the renewal of existing ones.
Private accommodation has expressly seasonal characteristics, and its
demands, particularly on the water supply during summer months, heav-
ily burden the area’s resource base. Furthermore, this burdens the drain-
age and sewer systems, as well as the area’s waste management capacity
(Opačić et al., 2005). The scope of the problem becomes clearer when it is re-
garded in terms of the spatial distribution of private accommodation with-
in the Park, in which the immediate area of the National Park is especial-
ly pressured.
Finally, it should be pointed out that, in keeping with knowledge
gained from the last few decades of overuse of the Park’s resources, this
phase of expansion could mature into a new phase of development that
would be oriented toward improving the quality of the existing tourism
supply and increasing awareness of the area’s value via education (regard-
ing the environment as well as the traditional significance of Plitvice Lakes
and its surroundings). This would go hand in hand with renewing existing
hospitality objects in the area of the Park, building more recreational paths,
eutrophication of the environment of the lakes. This is also in the interest of provid-
ing a better experience for visitors as crowding is reduced.
219
