Review paper
https://doi.org/10.33765/thate.9.3.3
Published in: Holistic Approach Environ. 9(2019) 3, pp. 60 – 69
Paper reference number: HAE-1912
Download Full text PDF

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

NATURAL CAPITAL PRESERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT AS A PREREQUISITE FOR YEAR-ROUND TOURISM

Lidija Runko Luttenberger*, Ivana Gudelj**

* University of Rijeka, School of Polytechnics, Rijeka, Croatia

** Ministry of Environment and Energy, Zagreb, Croatia

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

Increasing number of tourists wants to experience nature and at the same time have a positive impact on nature during their tourist stay. This paper presents the relationship between the preservation of natural capital of the locality and tourist season duration, as well as destination sustainable management and longevity. Tourism greatly depends on natural world, meaning the beauty of landscapes and seascapes and man’s connection with nature itself. It simultaneously depends on local natural environment and exerts an impact thereon. Conservation and sustainable management of natural capital maybe achieved in various ways. Countries are attempting to preserve natural capital and to monitor its change through regular reporting, using selected indicators. Croatia should strive to preserve its unique natural resources and devise the tools to measure own performance with due consideration of its specific feature, all with the aim of ensuring sustainable all-year tourism. Finally, the paper considers comprehensively all pressures on natural environment exerted by tourism as well as benefits for the locality of preserving domestic natural capital in a long term, while ensuring the monitoring of changes in state thereof. A ‘high value, low impact’ approach would bring in the growing share of affluent nature-loving tourists throughout the year, thus reducing present tourism seasonality and highly negative impact on nature, local communities and microclimate change.

Keywords: natural capital, tourism, sustainable management, impact on nature, year-round tourismĀ 
Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________