engleski

The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Implications for Tourism Preferences in Croatia: Potential New Challenges for Marginal Areas

The chapter discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry in Croatia, and specifically examining the response of marginal areas in terms of further marginalisation and the potential for de-marginalisation. The study focuses on two selected areas—the mountain region of Delnice and Mrkopalj in Gorski kotar and the remote islands of Mljet and Lastovo in the South Adriatic. Mixed methods approach is applied, including quantitative analysis of statistical data, qualitative analysis of conducted interviews and media, and fieldwork. The analysis revealed that, despite the significant decline in tourism, the marginal areas performed better overall than their counterparts in their wider counties and Croatia as a whole, accompanied by changes in source areas of tourists, their age structure, means of travel and length of stay. The change in tourists’ demand for natural or quiet and sparsely populated rural areas, as well as for accommodation in individual and preferably also remote higher category vacation homes, following the need for physical distance, opened up new opportunities for the marginal areas. The mountain area showed greater adaptability and resilience to change, and thus greater potential for de-marginalisation, than the remote islands of the South Adriatic.

tourism ; slowness movement ; COVID-19 pandemic ; Croatia ; marginal areas ; resilience ; de-marginalisation

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