Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21861/HGG.2024.86.02.07
The perception of impact of illegal migration on tourism in the border areas of Croatia
Hrvoje Mataković
orcid.org/0000-0001-7652-8846
; Institute for Tourism, Zagreb, Croatia
Izidora Marković Vukadin
; Institute for Tourism, Zagreb, Croatia
Jasenka Kranjčević
orcid.org/0000-0002-5594-9868
; Institute for Tourism, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Migration is a phenomenon that has been occurring since prehistoric times in which people change their permanent place of residence. In the modern era, when a migrant cross an international border during migration, it is called international migration. International migration can be legal or illegal. Illegal migration has affected various areas of life in Croatia over the last decade, including tourism. Although the public reaction to migrants during the migrant crisis in 2015 was mostly positive, later research has shown that illegal migrants still cause fear and a sense of insecurity among the population to a certain extent. To explore the impact of illegal migration on tourism, a survey was conducted among 60 representatives of the tourist boards of cities and municipalities from seven counties where the highest number of illegal border crossings was recorded. The research found that illegal migration has a negative impact on the perception of the security of tourists and local communities in border areas, which can lead to a weakening of tourism activities and confidence in the destination. Furthermore, it was found that there has been no decrease in tourism traffic to date, but also that the tourism sector in border areas is not trying to strengthen destinations’ resistance to illegal migration. In order to prevent the negative impact of illegal migration on tourism in the future, measures such as diversifying the tourism offer, improving security measures and intensifying cooperation between the tourism sector and local authorities should be taken.
Keywords
migration; security; tourism; Croatia; border areas; perception
Hrčak ID:
324764
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2024.
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