Tourism urbanization in Croatia. The cases of Poreč in Istria and Makarska in Dalmatia

Abstract

Taking Croatia as a case in point, the authors compare the influence of spatial planning on tourism urbanization. To understand how tourism and spatial planning have interacted on a subnational level, two tourism centres on the Adriatic coast, Poreč in Istria and Makarska in Dalmatia, were chosen as case studies. The authors argue that while tourism-driven urbanization during the socialist era favoured the development of hotels paired with quality communal infrastructure and public facilities, the subsequent socio-economic transformation has oriented tourism investments towards private profit in ways that have often led to the neglect of public interest and facilities. The two chosen cases represent different paths, however. In the last thirty years, Makarska has fallen prey to what has come to be called apartmanizacija (apartmentization)—an usurpation of valuable coastal space through the uncontrolled construction of private apartments. Poreč, on the other hand, has maintained its well-planned space by carefully rebuilding and upgrading its hotel capacities.