Naslov
Landscape Diversity of Krka National Park as a Prerequisite for the Development of Specific Forms of Tourism in the Protected Areas

Autori
Vrsaljko, Anđelko ; Proroković, Jakov

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, prošireni sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas (MMV) 11th: Behavioral changes of outdoor and landscape recreational consumption in Global Green Deal context (ABSTRACT BOOK) / - , 2022, 203-205

Skup
11th International Conference Monitoring and Management of Visitors 11 (MMV11)

Mjesto i datum
Jurmala, Latvija, 19.09.2022. - 22.09.2022

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
landscape diversity, Krka National Park, tourism development, sustainability

Sažetak
Krka National Park is one of the most beautiful and captivating national parks in Croatia, visited by over 1, 700, 000 visitors per year. It stands out for its exceptional landscape and biodiversity, where stone, water, travertine structures and plants merge into one. When it comes to biodiversity, geodiversity and hydrological abundance, the years of coevolution have resulted in numerous lakes, ponds, cascades and enchanting waterfalls. Its diverse mosaic landscape constitutes an excellent prerequisite for special forms of tourism in the protected areas, which do not seem to be sufficiently implemented in the Park. The aim of the research and the methodology The aim of the research was to test the visitors’ views on the implementation of special forms of tourism in protected areas, with special emphasis on landscape diversity and with the following hypotheses in mind: H1. Landscape diversity is a prerequisite for diversification and development of special forms of tourism such as ‘Nature based tourism’ and ‘Ecotourism’ ; H2. Sustainable landscape and biological diversity constitutes a long-term perspective of other sustainable forms of tourism such as ‘Wildlife tourism’ and ‘Adventure tourism’. Our primary research instrument was a questionnaire conducted directly in person with the visitors of the park ; the questionnaire was semi- structured and it was administered on a sample of 303 visitors (N = 303). The survey included 12 questions about visitors’ sociodemographic characteristics, 10 questions about their stay in the park and related experiences, as well as 20 statements regarding visitors' attitudes regarding landscape diversity as a paradigm of specific form/type tourism development (Likert scale 1-7). Landscape diversity as a particularity of the Park Krka National Park is one of the 8 national parks in Croatia, located in the heart of Dalmatia, with the most beautiful flows of the river Krka and the lower part of the river Čikola, covering an area of 109 km². The river passes through various relief forms, among which is the northern part and its mountain wall that stands out as the Krka’s main water supply. Resembling a morphogenetic enigma that includes numerous waterfalls and tufa barriers within them, the park is surrounded by a limestone plateau and canyons that are the youngest part of the river’s basin relief. With 7 larger waterfalls/cascades with a total drop of 242 m and abundance of water, Krka’s rich flora and fauna represent a unique natural karst phenomenon that is of great scientific importance. Survey on the landscape diversity of the Park The social profile of the visitors. The sample consisted largely of women (67%), younger population (87% of participants were aged between 18 and 50 years old), foreign guests (58%) and a more educated population (65% had a university degree or higher). With regards to primary motivation for the visit, the participants pointed out landscape diversity (31%), nature observation and the opportunity to enjoy fresh air (30%), rest and recreation (21%), whereas flora and fauna were less of a factor. These results indicate that the visitors’ motivation was triggered by the Park’s landscape diversity, with their focus being primarily on the Nature based tourism (43%) and Ecotourism (26%), and less so on the Wildlife tourism (21%) and Adventure tourism (10%). Regarding the educational programs that the visitors would like to experience in the Krka National Park, they chose the educational program on the aquatic richness in the Park (25%), the program on the landscape diversity of the Park (24%), the program on the cultural riches of the Park (19%), while only 16% of them were interested in a potential educational program on flora and fauna. The vast majority of visitors visited other national parks in either Croatia, or their own countries. This data further corroborates the claim that the sample is relatively representative. Landscape diversity in the eyes of visitors. The survey contained 20 claims concerning the Park’s landscape diversity, and the answers ranged from 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly disagree). The answers are expressed in percentages (Table 1). The Table clearly shows that the visitors’ answers were mostly affirmative, i.e., 75% of the total answers ranged from ‘somewhat agree’ to ‘strongly agree’. In particular, they tended to agree most with the statement ‘The landscape diversity of the Park represents the foundation of the biological variety and should be protected, preserved and improved’ ; 47% of research visitors strongly agreed, 31% agreed and 15% somewhat agreed with the statement. On average, the ratings were 6.06 ± 1.09 with small variability. Furthermore, they tended to largely agree with the statement ‘The park stands out with its exceptional landscape diversity’. Similarly, the visitors highly rated the statement ‘Nature Based Tourism shows a long-term perspective for the Park’ (6.09±1.16). Although with greater dispersion, their results were once again high (5.95 and 5.59) when it comes to statements relating to Ecotourism, such as ‘Ecotourism shows both present and future potential of the park’ and ‘The park is ideal for practicing Ecotourism and the main motive of my visit’. Although the visitors agree that landscape diversity can be easily observed in the Park (4.96 ± 1.03), the fact that the tourist offer focused on landscape diversity corresponds to the purchasing power of tourists indicates that there is room for improvement. They also pointed out that the promotion of landscape diversity, as well as local agricultural products the Park has to offer, should be promoted more intensively. Among other things, their answers indicate several aspects with room for improvement: the tourist offer in terms of landscape needs to diversify ; traditional building architecture should be valued more ; tourists need to be familiarized with the specific habitats when it comes to certain plants or animal species and finally, further efforts should be devoted to designing and promoting landscape tours. The results unequivocally confirm both hypotheses, i.e., an adequate evaluation of landscape and biodiversity could serve to create an astounding image of the Krka National Park as a tourist destination.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Interdisciplinarne biotehničke znanosti, Interdisciplinarne društvene znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA