The Development of Tourism on Large Croatian Islands: The Case of Hvar Town on the Island of Hvar

Abstract

This paper examines the special characteristics of tourism development on the Adriatic islands, focusing on Hvar Town, the largest town and port on the island of Hvar and its busiest destination. The research was carried out using the method of semi-structured interviews. A total of 30 interviews were conducted with the local residents (mostly employed in the tourism sector) and temporary/seasonal visitors. The intention was to learn about the current state of tourism in the town and look at the possible scenarios for the future development of sustainable tourism, based on its three inter-connected aspects: environmental, economic and socio-cultural. The research also considered the influence of various tourism actors on the development, the possibilities of agritourism, the role and importance of cultural tourism and, finally yet importantly, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the last year's drastically shortened summer season. The results show that mass tourism (and its subset party tourism) have dominated the tourist offer since 2000 onwards, changing the reputation of Hvar as the elite travel destination or the family holiday destination it used to have before.