engleski

Second home phenomenon and tourism in the Croatian littoral – two pretenders for the same space?

Like the tourism industry, the second home phenomenon in Croatia experienced a steep rise in the post-WWII period, and is still flourishing today. Due to their unquestionable recreational purpose, but also because they are suitable for renting out, the majority of second homes are located in the coastal and island region, which is also the country’s leading tourism region. In order to start a detailed research into the relationship between the second home phenomenon and tourism in the Croatian littoral, first it was necessary to establish whether the spatial distribution of these two phenomena coincided, as well as analyze their spatial pressure in the local communities. Therefore, the basic aim of this research was to investigate the following hypothesis: “The receiving second home regions of the Croatian littoral significantly coincide with Croatia’s most developed tourism regions”. The geographical framework of this study consisted of 134 local self-government units of the Croatian littoral. In order to test the aforementioned hypothesis, it was necessary to establish the proportions of commercial and non-commercial spatial touristification. We used the coefficient of tourist functionality (index) i.e. its derivation – the Defert tourism activity indicator (TAI) – as a pressure indicator of tourism/second home valorization of space. The hypothesis regarding whether the receiving second home regions of the Croatian littoral coincided with the most developed tourist regions was additionally investigated using the correlation analysis method. Analysis of the spatial pressure of second home and tourism activity confirmed the assumption that the Croatian littoral was the country’s leading tourism as well as second home region, but that these two related activities mainly did not coincide at the local level of spatial differentiation.

second home phenomenon; tourism; spatial pressure; littoral; Croatia

Rad je objavljen i u hrvatskom izdanju istoga časopisa: Opačić, V. T., Mikačić, V. (2009): Vikendaštvo i turizam u priobalnom dijelu Hrvatske – dva pretendenta na isti prostor?, Turizam, vol. 57, br. 2, 163-183.