Page 91 - 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. 91
tourism in protected areas and the transformation of mljet island, croatia
ulation ageing processes, which can be considered to be partially respon-
sible for the less-developed tourism supply and difficulties in attracting
newcomers from the mainland (Šulc, 2016). Higher levels of tourism devel-
opment inevitably require a larger, adequately educated population, with
high levels of initiative and interest in continual development of the tour-
ism supply (Šulc, 2016).
Socio-economic impacts of tourism
The analysis of the socio-economic impact of tourism aims to determine to
what level tourism influenced social and economic processes on the island,
as well as how much the population is pressured by tourism. These process-
es were determined by investigating changes in educational composition,
economic activity, and indicators of social pressure of tourism since 1961.
The educational composition of the population consists of “human
capital” and it is one of the most important characteristics of the popula-
tion in terms of potential economic development (Nejašmić, 1998; Nejašmić
et al., 2009). In the 1961–2011 period, Mljet’s population experienced large
improvements in educational composition, but it always lagged behind the
regional average. In 1961, the educational level was rather low—the educa-
tion index was 0.0, as 88% of the population had not even finished prima-
ry school, 7% had a primary school level education, 4% had a high school
education, and only handful had a tertiary-level education (0.1%) (Tab. 5).
Due to high orientation towards traditional agriculture, people used
to only finish elementary school (or not attend school at all) and then start
working in agriculture with their families. Bottom-up development of
tourism was not something the one would expect. However, Mljet was not
an exception at that time, as most of southern Dalmatia was still oriented
towards agriculture and the regional average was just slightly higher (edu-
cational index was 0.3; 77.3% of the population had not finished elementa-
ry school, 9.5% had a primary school level education, 11.4% had a secondary
school level education, and 1.8% had a tertiary-level education) (FBS, 1965).
In the following decades, the education composition of Mljet im-
proved slowly, resulting in an educational index of only 1.9 in 1991, due to a
persistently high share of people without any education (52%) and only 5%
with tertiary-level education. Having no working opportunities outside ag-
riculture, intensive out-migration in the 1960s and 1970s included the is-
land’s particularly educated inhabitants and resulted in the absence of an
appropriate socio-economic transformation led by tourism, as was com-
89
ulation ageing processes, which can be considered to be partially respon-
sible for the less-developed tourism supply and difficulties in attracting
newcomers from the mainland (Šulc, 2016). Higher levels of tourism devel-
opment inevitably require a larger, adequately educated population, with
high levels of initiative and interest in continual development of the tour-
ism supply (Šulc, 2016).
Socio-economic impacts of tourism
The analysis of the socio-economic impact of tourism aims to determine to
what level tourism influenced social and economic processes on the island,
as well as how much the population is pressured by tourism. These process-
es were determined by investigating changes in educational composition,
economic activity, and indicators of social pressure of tourism since 1961.
The educational composition of the population consists of “human
capital” and it is one of the most important characteristics of the popula-
tion in terms of potential economic development (Nejašmić, 1998; Nejašmić
et al., 2009). In the 1961–2011 period, Mljet’s population experienced large
improvements in educational composition, but it always lagged behind the
regional average. In 1961, the educational level was rather low—the educa-
tion index was 0.0, as 88% of the population had not even finished prima-
ry school, 7% had a primary school level education, 4% had a high school
education, and only handful had a tertiary-level education (0.1%) (Tab. 5).
Due to high orientation towards traditional agriculture, people used
to only finish elementary school (or not attend school at all) and then start
working in agriculture with their families. Bottom-up development of
tourism was not something the one would expect. However, Mljet was not
an exception at that time, as most of southern Dalmatia was still oriented
towards agriculture and the regional average was just slightly higher (edu-
cational index was 0.3; 77.3% of the population had not finished elementa-
ry school, 9.5% had a primary school level education, 11.4% had a secondary
school level education, and 1.8% had a tertiary-level education) (FBS, 1965).
In the following decades, the education composition of Mljet im-
proved slowly, resulting in an educational index of only 1.9 in 1991, due to a
persistently high share of people without any education (52%) and only 5%
with tertiary-level education. Having no working opportunities outside ag-
riculture, intensive out-migration in the 1960s and 1970s included the is-
land’s particularly educated inhabitants and resulted in the absence of an
appropriate socio-economic transformation led by tourism, as was com-
89
