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Fostering Responsible Tourist Consumption by the Public Institutions of National Parks in Croatia

Ecotourism improves nature protection and brings many benefits to local communities, however in some cases its negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts may become a serious threat to destination’s resources and sustainability. Since the continuous growth in number of visitors to national parks is increasingly leading to the excessive development of ecotourism, public institutions of national parks are forced to seek innovative approaches and concepts that would ensure economic sustainability, but simultaneously reduce harmful impacts to the environment and local community. The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore the extent to which responsible consumption is applicable in ecotourism, specifically in national parks and their immediate surroundings, but also to explore the scope of activities by which public institutions of national parks in Croatia promote responsible consumption among their visitors. The focus of this study was on how national parks promote and encourage their visitors to become responsible consumers and how do they communicate their own efforts in raising awareness about such practices. The framework of this research is based on ecotourism, perceived as the least consumption-oriented special interest tourism, which may imply that ecotourism encourages visitors to behave responsibly towards the environment and the local community. The case study used in this paper encompasses all national parks in Croatia, namely their public institutions which are responsible for park management and wildlife conservation. Based on primary and secondary data, the research results showed that public institutions of all national parks in Croatia practice and conduct different activities that promote responsible consumption, however the extent and scope of such activities depends on their available human and financial resources. The findings also highlighted many opportunities and actions that can be implemented in order to encourage visitors to be more responsible to environment and local community. To advance a scientific discussion on the concept of responsible consumption as well as to encourage public institutions of national parks to intensify the use of such practices, nine policy recommendations were provided.

responsible tourist consumption, ecotourism, national parks, Croatia

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