Unsustainable imbalances in tourism development? Case study of the Mikulov region (Czech Republic)
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| Year of publication | 2020 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | The paper deals with the issue of unbalanced tourism development in one of the Czech popular tourism destinations – Mikulov region. This destination is an excellent example of a cultural landscape with the unique environment of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. However, some parts of the destination seem to remain highly underdeveloped compared to the destination´s most visited hotspots. The paper aims to evaluate the territorial polarization and sustainable tourism performance using tourism intensity indicators, measuring the volume of tourism in the destination individual parts. The empirical case study uses multiple methods to understand complex relationships among tourism attractivity, the character of visitors´ consumption, and tourism impacts. It is based on secondary data from the statistical office, media content analysis, and an in-depth interview with a representative from the regional destination management organization (DMO). The results reveal significant tourism performance differences, especially in the proportion of tourist overnight stays and the distribution of tourism infrastructure. The paper points to the seasonally concentrated visits and negative tourism effects on overcrowded parts of the destination. Finally, it critically interprets the results through visitor management practices and discusses the changes in the distribution of tourism flows in space and time to mitigate negative visitor impacts. |
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