A survey of tourist preference for forests and attitudes towards ecological and social forest services

Ispitivanje sklonosti turista za boravak u šumi provedeno je tijekom dviju ljetnih sezona na otoku Korčuli. Ispitanici su bili domaći i strani turisti koji su izabrali hrvatsku obalu za odredište svoga godišnjeg odmora. Otok se nalazi u srednjodalmatinskom arhipelagu, južno od Splita, a sjeverno od Dubrovnika. Poznato je turističko odredište, koje ostvari i do milijun noćenja po sezoni. Uz to, Korčula je jedan od najšumovitijih otoka, s više od 60 % površine obrasle šumom. Cilj ispitivanja bio je dobiti uvid u stavove i sklonosti turista za boravak u šumi i ekološkim i socijalnim uslugama šuma. Anketa je ponuđena ispitanicima na samostalno ispunjavanje po slobodnom izboru i bez vremenskoga ograničenja. Anketa je bila opširna, s više grupa pitanja različitih mogućnosti odgovora. Grupe pitanja obrađivale su: socioekonomski status ispitanika, sklonosti za boravkom u šumi i različitim aktivnostima, odnos prema okolišu i razlozi dolaska na odmor u odabrano odredište. Radi raznolike turističke populacije, anketa je ponuđena na hrvatskom i sedam stranih jezika (engleski, njemački, talijanski, slovenski, poljski, češki i mađarski). Rezultati su ukazali na značajnu sklonost turista za boravkom u prirodi i šumi, visoku svijest ispitanika o okolišnim vrijednostima i prepoznavanje šume kao značajnog činitelja krajobraza i okoliša općenito, za čije su čuvanje i obnovu spremni dodatno izdvojiti od 1,5 do 3,5% na cijenu smještaja, čime bi se sakupila značajna svota novca namijenjena zaštiti i obnovi šuma.The preference of tourists for forests was surveyed during two summer seasons on the island of Kor~ula. The respondents were Croatian and foreign tourists who chose the Croatian coast as a holiday destination. The island is situated in the Central Dalmatian archipelago south of Split and north of Dubrovnik. It is a renowned tourist resort that achieves up to one million overnight stays per season. Over 60% of the area of Kor~ula is covered with forests, which ranks this island among one of the most forested in the Adriatic. The goal of the survey was to test the attitudes and preferences of tourists for forests and for ecological and social forest services. Tourists were asked to fill in the questionnaire at their choice and with no time limit. The extensive questionnaire consisted of several groups of questions and offered different possibilities of answers. The groups of questions included the following the socio-economic status of the respondents, the preference for forests and different activities in forests, attitudes towards the environment and the reasons for spending a holiday in a chosen destination. In order to include different tourist populations in the survey, the questionnaire was printed in Croatian and in 7 foreign languages (English, German, Italian, Slovenian, Polish, Check and Hungarian). The results showed significant preference of tourists for forests and the nature, a keen awareness of environmental values and the perception of a forest as an important landscape and environmental factor in general. Tourists were prepared to pay an additional 1.5 to 3.5% on the cost of accommodation in order to contribute to the means intended for the preservation and regeneration of forests

A survey of tourist preference for forests and attitudes towards ecological and social forest services

Ispitivanje sklonosti turista za boravak u šumi provedeno je tijekom dviju ljetnih sezona na otoku Korčuli. Ispitanici su bili domaći i strani turisti koji su izabrali hrvatsku obalu za odredište svoga godišnjeg odmora. Otok se nalazi u srednjodalmatinskom arhipelagu, južno od Splita, a sjeverno od Dubrovnika. Poznato je turističko odredište, koje ostvari i do milijun noćenja po sezoni. Uz to, Korčula je jedan od najšumovitijih otoka, s više od 60 % površine obrasle šumom. Cilj ispitivanja bio je dobiti uvid u stavove i sklonosti turista za boravak u šumi i ekološkim i socijalnim uslugama šuma. Anketa je ponuđena ispitanicima na samostalno ispunjavanje po slobodnom izboru i bez vremenskoga ograničenja. Anketa je bila opširna, s više grupa pitanja različitih mogućnosti odgovora. Grupe pitanja obrađivale su: socioekonomski status ispitanika, sklonosti za boravkom u šumi i različitim aktivnostima, odnos prema okolišu i razlozi dolaska na odmor u odabrano odredište. Radi raznolike turističke populacije, anketa je ponuđena na hrvatskom i sedam stranih jezika (engleski, njemački, talijanski, slovenski, poljski, češki i mađarski). Rezultati su ukazali na značajnu sklonost turista za boravkom u prirodi i šumi, visoku svijest ispitanika o okolišnim vrijednostima i prepoznavanje šume kao značajnog činitelja krajobraza i okoliša općenito, za čije su čuvanje i obnovu spremni dodatno izdvojiti od 1,5 do 3,5% na cijenu smještaja, čime bi se sakupila značajna svota novca namijenjena zaštiti i obnovi šuma.The preference of tourists for forests was surveyed during two summer seasons on the island of Kor~ula. The respondents were Croatian and foreign tourists who chose the Croatian coast as a holiday destination. The island is situated in the Central Dalmatian archipelago south of Split and north of Dubrovnik. It is a renowned tourist resort that achieves up to one million overnight stays per season. Over 60% of the area of Kor~ula is covered with forests, which ranks this island among one of the most forested in the Adriatic. The goal of the survey was to test the attitudes and preferences of tourists for forests and for ecological and social forest services. Tourists were asked to fill in the questionnaire at their choice and with no time limit. The extensive questionnaire consisted of several groups of questions and offered different possibilities of answers. The groups of questions included the following the socio-economic status of the respondents, the preference for forests and different activities in forests, attitudes towards the environment and the reasons for spending a holiday in a chosen destination. In order to include different tourist populations in the survey, the questionnaire was printed in Croatian and in 7 foreign languages (English, German, Italian, Slovenian, Polish, Check and Hungarian). The results showed significant preference of tourists for forests and the nature, a keen awareness of environmental values and the perception of a forest as an important landscape and environmental factor in general. Tourists were prepared to pay an additional 1.5 to 3.5% on the cost of accommodation in order to contribute to the means intended for the preservation and regeneration of forests

Characteristics and drivers of forest cover change in the post-socialist era in Croatia: evidence from a mixed-methods approach

© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Extensive forests in Croatia represent an important biological and economic resource in Europe. They are characterised by heterogeneity in forest management practices dating back to the socialist planned economy of the pre-1991 era. In this study we investigated the difference in rates of deforestation and reforestation in private- and state-owned forests during the post-socialist period and the causal drivers of change. The selected region of Northern Croatia is characterised by a high percentage of privately owned forests with minimal national monitoring and control. We used a mixed-methods approach which combines remote sensing, statistical modelling and a household-based questionnaire survey to assess the rates of forest cover change and factors influencing those changes. The results show that predominantly privately owned forests in Northern Croatia have recorded a net forest loss of 1.8 % during the 1991–2011 period, while Croatia overall is characterised by a 10 % forest cover increase in predominantly state-owned forests. Main factors influencing forest cover changes in private forests are slope, altitude, education structure, population age and population density. The results also show that the deforestation in private forests is weakening overall, mostly due to the continuation of the de-agrarisation and de-ruralisation processes which began during socialism