The Role of Tourism in Sustainable Development of Mountainous Border Region—The Case of Bovec Municipality, Slovenia

Abstract

In the last decades tourism trends indicated a growing demand for adventure tourism, while new forms of tourist offer also adapt to the lifestyle of tourists, in which the concern for health and living with nature is becoming increasingly important. This also applies to tourist demand in Slovenia, where statistical data show that the largest number of tourist arrivals is recorded in the mountain resorts. The Municipality of Bovec is the fourth largest Slovenian municipality and is to a high degree characterized by the diverse mountainous terrain of Julian Alps and the location on the border between Slovenia and Italy. About 80% of its territory is a part of Triglav National Park (the only national park in Slovenia). According to the various indicators of economic development and previously mentioned factors, the area of the municipality is often described as problematic or underdeveloped. In the recent years, sustainable tourism appears to be one of the most important development policies in the Municipality of Bovec. This concept is particularly suitable for the conservation of protected mountainous natural and cultural landscape, which faces intense depopulation, loss of agricultural land and overgrowth of land. The authors performed an in-depth analysis of different tourism indicators and discuss the establishment of various forms of sustainable tourism activities (such as ecotourism, geotourism, cultural and educational tourism), as well as additional development opportunities for the area, such as the inclusion of selected municipal settlements to the project “Mountaineering villages”, and in acquisition of certification “Ecolabel” for local campsites.