engleski

Transformation of tourism after COVID19 pandemic; attitudes of the local community

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis. Countries around the world have implemented population movement restrictions to slow the spread of severe acute coronavirus respiratory syndrome and prevent health systems from being overloaded ; and most also declared a full or partial lockdown. International, regional and local travel restrictions immediately affected national economies, including tourism systems, ie. international travel, domestic tourism, one-day visits and segments as diverse as air transport, cruises, public transport, accommodation, cafes and restaurants, congresses, festivals, meetings or sporting events, which have directly affected the local community by reducing income. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic affected destinations at different stages of tourism development, some of which fell into a whirlwind of overtourism and negative impacts of tourism in the pre-pandemic period. These pressures were particularly evident in Dubrovnik, where the urban core was recognized as one of the main centres of excessive tourism, with particular emphasis on reducing the quality of life of the local community. Numerous scientific papers and academic discussions in pandemic times state that we are at a crossroads between unsustainable tourism before the pandemic and sustainable tourism strategies, policies and products of the new age. The transformation of existing tourism through the analysed works can be reduced to two basic perspectives: reducing the number of tourists in existing destinations through the development of sustainable but at the same time high value added products, and the development of new destinations based on existing tourism products. At the same time, the role of the local population in tourist destinations is recognized as extremely important due to the direct contact they have with visitors, especially when it comes to urban destinations. In addition, the local population is an important interest group and the quality of the tourist destination and tourist product will depend on its satisfaction or dissatisfaction with tourism development and participation in it, which is further emphasized in times of crisis. On the other hand, stakeholders responsible for tourism management and development planning and representing the public interest often ignore the attitudes of local community although they are an important part of successful tourism development, especially in tourism decision-making strategies during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, this paper seeks to gain more knowledge about the support and attitudes of the local population to the changes that could occur as a result of the desire of the governing bodies of the destination for the transformation of tourism, on the example of Dubrovnik. The paper will analyse recent literature on the Covid-19 pandemic and the transformation of tourism, and provide a systematic overview of recent directions of transformation. Furthermore, the implementation of the survey will determine the level of support for the transformation of tourism of the inhabitants of Dubrovnik, as well as the potential directions of transformation

sustainable development, Dubrovnik, Covid19, management

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