On Friday, March 14, 2025, the Regional Development Forum took place at the Sheraton Hotel in Zagreb, with the main theme of sustainable tourism. The forum was organized by the Croatian Association of Counties in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the business weekly Lider.
At the forum, scientists from the Institute for Tourism, Dr. Damir Krešić and Dr. Izidora Marković Vukadin, actively participated in discussions about sustainable tourism and the promotion of continental destinations.
- Dr. Izidora Marković Vukadin delivered a presentation on the topic "Development, measurement, and monitoring of tourism sustainability indicators at the regional and local levels." In her presentation, Dr. Marković Vukadin emphasized the importance of implementing sustainability monitoring systems to ensure a long-term balance between tourism development, environmental preservation, and the well-being of local communities. She highlighted that the Tourism Act includes a range of tools for monitoring and operationalizing sustainability at the destination level. She also stressed the importance of collaboration among the state, local communities, destinations, and other key tourism institutions, including scientists and the academic community.
- Dr. Damir Krešić, Director of the Institute for Tourism, participated in a panel discussion titled "How to align tourism growth with environmental and local community preservation." He emphasized the need for different tourism development strategies in coastal and continental Croatia, highlighting the importance of raising awareness about sustainable development as an inevitable direction for the future of tourism.
The forum concluded that sustainable tourism development is the only viable direction for destinations to pursue, as development without sustainability will lead to unattractiveness and reduced profits. The forum provided a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences and emphasized the importance of joint action by all stakeholders to achieve sustainable tourism in Croatia.