Page 46 - 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. 46
challenges of tourism development in protected areas of croatia and slovenia
cial statistical data of the Ministry of Environment and Energy regarding
the number of visitors, and the actual number of visitors.
In order to determine the extent to which transport accessibility for
entrances to the 16 Croatian national parks and nature parks is related to
the number of visitors, the method of correlation analysis was used, where-
by the transport accessibility scores for entrances to protected areas were
taken as the independent variable, and the number of visitors as the de-
pendent variable.
On the level of all protected areas included in the analysis, a strong
correlation between the transport accessibility score of a protected area and
the number of visitors in 2018 (N=16; r=0.536) was determined, whereby the
more transport-accessible Croatian national parks and nature parks were
those with higher numbers of visitors, i.e. higher tourist flow (Fig. 2).
A high value of Pearson coefficient is weighted mainly by national
parks, recording an even higher correlation among the variables, as op-
posed to nature parks, where a correlation between transport accessibility
and the number of visitors in 2018 was not determined. Therefore, an even
stronger correlation between the transport accessibility score and the num-
ber of visitors in 2018 (N=7; r=0.706) is shown for national parks, whereby
the more transport-accessible national parks show higher visitor numbers.
It is noteworthy that the number of national parks in the correlation anal-
ysis is low, so these results can be taken into consideration only as illustra-
tive (Fig. 3).
A higher level of correlation between the transport accessibility score
and the number of visitors in national parks can be explained with the fact
that national parks, in the context of the number of visitors (tourist visits),
can be identified with tourist sights (some even with tourism destinations).
It could be recognised that better quality of their transport accessibility
is in line with their higher tourist flow. Namely, national parks are gener-
ally more attractive to tourists than nature parks, due to their higher lev-
el of protection and preservation of nature. Therefore, considering the sig-
nificance of transport accessibility, they showcase features similar to other
tourist sights/destinations. Furthermore, national parks undoubtedly keep
more accurate records of the number of visitors, because all visitors are re-
quired to pay an entrance fee during their visit.
Nature parks show lower levels of correlation between their transport
accessibility score and the number of visitors (N=9; r=0.355), leading to the
conclusion that the more transport-accessible Croatian nature parks are of-
44
cial statistical data of the Ministry of Environment and Energy regarding
the number of visitors, and the actual number of visitors.
In order to determine the extent to which transport accessibility for
entrances to the 16 Croatian national parks and nature parks is related to
the number of visitors, the method of correlation analysis was used, where-
by the transport accessibility scores for entrances to protected areas were
taken as the independent variable, and the number of visitors as the de-
pendent variable.
On the level of all protected areas included in the analysis, a strong
correlation between the transport accessibility score of a protected area and
the number of visitors in 2018 (N=16; r=0.536) was determined, whereby the
more transport-accessible Croatian national parks and nature parks were
those with higher numbers of visitors, i.e. higher tourist flow (Fig. 2).
A high value of Pearson coefficient is weighted mainly by national
parks, recording an even higher correlation among the variables, as op-
posed to nature parks, where a correlation between transport accessibility
and the number of visitors in 2018 was not determined. Therefore, an even
stronger correlation between the transport accessibility score and the num-
ber of visitors in 2018 (N=7; r=0.706) is shown for national parks, whereby
the more transport-accessible national parks show higher visitor numbers.
It is noteworthy that the number of national parks in the correlation anal-
ysis is low, so these results can be taken into consideration only as illustra-
tive (Fig. 3).
A higher level of correlation between the transport accessibility score
and the number of visitors in national parks can be explained with the fact
that national parks, in the context of the number of visitors (tourist visits),
can be identified with tourist sights (some even with tourism destinations).
It could be recognised that better quality of their transport accessibility
is in line with their higher tourist flow. Namely, national parks are gener-
ally more attractive to tourists than nature parks, due to their higher lev-
el of protection and preservation of nature. Therefore, considering the sig-
nificance of transport accessibility, they showcase features similar to other
tourist sights/destinations. Furthermore, national parks undoubtedly keep
more accurate records of the number of visitors, because all visitors are re-
quired to pay an entrance fee during their visit.
Nature parks show lower levels of correlation between their transport
accessibility score and the number of visitors (N=9; r=0.355), leading to the
conclusion that the more transport-accessible Croatian nature parks are of-
44
