Strengths and weaknesses of specific development of tourism on larger Adriatic islands: The example of the City of Hvar

• Coordinator: Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Urban/Rural and Science Research Centre
• Financed by: Ministry of Science and Education
• Duration: July 2020 – July 2021

The transformation of island spaces, especially those on the Adriatic, has been the topic of a multitude of research in the past few years. Besides the influences of globalization and modernization, it is important to mention the island processes occurring as consequences of tourism. This research will include, as a kind of a continuation of the previous research on the Island of Brač, a case study of the City of Hvar on the Island of Hvar, where mostly the mass tourism type is present, which has already appeared as problematic in terms of infrastructure in many places on islands (Theng, Qiong i Tatar, 2015). However, the case of Hvar witnesses the problem of uncontrolled development of tourism, i. e. non-planned tourism that has consequently resulted in over-exploitation of the island resources, whereby inclining towards losing the direction of its development. Employing the method of semi-structured interviews with permanent and temporary (seasonal) residents of the city the way in which respondents see the current state of tourism will be examined, along with their opinion on the most represented type(s) of tourism, its positive and negative sides, the main capacities and drivers of development, and the potential further development of tourism in the City of Hvar. The research will regard four dimensions of sustainability: the economic, ecological, social and cultural, and their interaction (Throsby, 2008; O’Toole, Wallis and Mitchell, 2006; Spangenberg, 2004). This method enables us comparison with the previous research on the Island of Brač, and future research on other islands.