The Problem Of Implementation Of Key Sustainable Tourism Indicators In The Croatian Municipalities And Cities

The paper examines and identifies the possibility of applying the basic ecological, socio-cultural and economic indicators of sustainable development as a way of monitoring Croatian tourist regions and related municipalities and cities, while taking into account the main criteria of relevance, feasibility (availability), credibility, clarity, and comparability. The paper analyzed and compared the methodology, guidelines, and suggestions for the implementation of key sustainable tourism indicators of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the European Union, and other organizations. It also refers to selected research papers resulting from the attempt to interpret and concretize these indicators in Croatia and in the European tourist regions which are similar to Croatia according to their geographical and tourist features. By examining the key criteria of official statistical indicator availability in Croatia, it was found that certain key indicators cannot be used in the monitoring of sustainable tourism at the spatial level of municipalities and cities. The main reasons are the following: the lack of official statistical monitoring of some phenomena and processes in tourism within municipalities and cities; territorial and administrative organization and tourist board networks; inconsistency, disparity, and obsolescence of data required for indicators in relevant institutions. For the purpose of monitoring, 14 indicators were singled out in the area of inland Istria. The data used to draft these indicators were gathered from local organizations and institutions. Only partial and limited monitoring with key sustainable tourism indicators is possible at the current level of data availability in Croatian municipalities and cities.