UNIC Lightning Bites: Sustainable tourism development in Croatia: challenges and perspectives

With tourist arrivals on the rise worldwide, it is crucial for tourism destinations to rethink their development policies and adopt sustainable practises as a necessary means to ensure prosperity in local communities. Alongside the outbreak of overtourism in numerous destinations, the involvement of the public sector in ensuring a high quality of life for local communities seems inevitable. Through the implementation of various tourism policy measures, local authorities are taking an active role in minimising the negative impacts of tourism in destinations. However, this requires a change in mentality, as neoliberal policies have relaxed regulations on the tourism market and reduced the role of the public sector in this process. However, we are seeing a shift within communities as locals are taking an active role and raising their voices against uncontrolled and unsustainable tourism growth by emphasising the need to set carrying capacities at the destination level. As an example of the government's attempt to reduce the negative impacts of tourism development and set the limits of tourism growth, the case of Croatia is briefly analysed. The new Tourism Act introduces numerous new measures that focus on setting maximum capacities at the destination level and provide clear guidelines and strategies for stakeholders in the process of destination development and management. These measures and guidelines are discussed in the context of ensuring a sustainable environment and long-term prosperity for local communities in Croatia.

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