Tourism accommodation facilities in the function of responsible development of Dubrovnik.

Dragicevic, Marija ; Pavlic, Ivana

Abstract: Responsible tourism is a tourism management strategy embracing planning, management, product development and marketing to bring about positive economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts. For tourism operators it is about providing more rewarding holidays experiences for guests whilst enabling local communities to enjoy a better quality of life and conserving the natural environment. The aim of the paper is to show the current state and possible growth of tourism accommodation in the Dubrovnik area and to give recommendations for the future development. It should be assured that the future development and trends in accommodation will be in function of responsible development.

Key words: accommodation facilities, responsible development, certification, Dubrovnik

1. INTRODUCTION

The paper researches and analyses the problem of the structure and occupancy rate of the accommodation facilities in Dubrovnik in respect of the responsible development of the region. One of the fundamental problems of the Dubrovnik tourism supply is the existing structure of accommodation facilities, which can be a limiting factor in the further effective development of tourism.

The primary goal of this paper is to explain what this structural ratio means when considering the future of tourism development in Dubrovnik in accordance with the objective possibilities. These facts must become the points of reference of tourism policy, especially of the policy of the future building construction in Dubrovnik tourism. The reason lies in the fact that tourism is already and will remain in the future a priority development industry on which the development of the whole region economy will depend. The main problem in tourism growth is that it has to be equilibrium between the economical criteria and environmental development criteria. The paper will emphasize that the implementation of international standard ISO 14 001 is one of the important "tools" for the tourism responsible development in Dubrovnik.

2. TOURISM ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES IN DUBROVNIK

Hotels are very important operators in tourism especially in Dubrovnik, showed in the following chart. They can also actively contribute to responsible tourism development by striving to operate within the environmentally, socially and economically responsible framework. Hotel resort operations are particularly intensive in terms of energy and water consumptions.

In Dubrovnik tourism hotel supply account for 46 % of the total capacity, while complementary facilities account for 54 %. Progress towards stated goals of reducing energy and water use is very important. Infrastructure initiatives to reduce water consumption include for example installing low-flow showers in all guest rooms.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

However, an objective analysis still indicates that the special attention has to be paid to the facts which are to become the points of reference of tourism policy and especially of the policy of future building construction in tourism.

Analysis requires researching the size of bed--nights realized according to the various kinds of accommodation facilities that these data can be compared to, the share of particular kinds of facilities in total supply and finally the determination of occupancy rate of these facilities.

Hotels account for more than 79 %, of the total bed nights, while the share of camp-sites is 6 %, and private accommodation account for 15 %, which is a significant percent in the accommodation structure. On the average, hotels in Dubrovnik are occupied for a minimum of five months annually. Taking the complementary facilities in consideration, the occupancy rate of campsites is about two months a year while the annual occupancy rate of private accommodation is considerably less than one month.

This simplified analysis reveals the following:

1. An analysis of the structure of the accommodation facilities automatically leads to a segmentation of the tourist demand in many of the forms in which it is manifested.

2. Complementary facilities are distinctly seasonal facilities, the use of which depends to a great extent on climatic factors and which do not provide much opportunity to prolong the season.

3. The issue which has been raised with regard to the structure of accommodation facilities is very important for the creation of the global tourism policy in accordance with responsible development.

One way to promote responsible tourism and ecotourism as quality products is implementation of international standards in business practice, especially in hotels. The concept of responsible tourism needs to be applied with the Law, technical and economical policy at to every level from national to local (Dulcic & Petric 2001).

Implementation of international standards is one of the most important factors, which puts differential advantage before competition in hospitality industry (Vrtiprah & Pavlic 2005).

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 14 001

ISO 14001 is the worlds most recognized EMAS framework-accepted from Argentina to Zimbabwe--that helps organizations to better manage the impact of the activities on the environment and to demonstrate sound environmental management.

The origins of certification are in manufacturing industry. Manufacturing standards were set by the European Commission and recognized through the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in 1993 (Xavier, 2002).

In 1996 the International Organization set ISO 14001 which awards entire organizations in any industry. Since the publication of ISO 14001, many companies have implemented the standard. Until now nearly 49000 organizations in 118 countries have had their EMAS certified as conforming to these requirements.

Implementation of standards in the Republic of Croatia is in its infancy, beginning in the service sector, especially in tourism. Although implementation has begun it can be said that the number of certificated hotels is small.

International competition and globalization lead to accepting quality as a business strategy.

Except marketing benefits of implementation international standards, there are also some significant tangible economic benefits are:

1. Reduced raw material/resource use.

2. Reduced energy consumption.

3. Improved process efficiency.

4. Reduced waste generation and disposal costs.

5. Utilization of recoverable resources.

6. Efficient use of water.

Ecological awareness of tourists leads to creating eco products. Ecological acceptance is an important factor in creating positive customer perception. Consequently, this standard becomes an important element in increasing the competition of receptive capacities, both private and public. It can be applied in small and medium enterprises, too. (Urbonavicius, 2005)

Unfortunately, there is only one hotel in Dubrovnik with certification ISO 14001. It is clear that there is a great space for implementation of ISO 14001 standards in the Dubrovnik area. (HR Survey, 2006) This is also important for the cooperation between tour operators and partners.

Tour operators practice show that they promote responsible tourism. Responsible Tour operators are looking for responsible partners. For example Tour operator TUI has a check list that covers environmental influence management (EIQ) and environment quality management (EQ). Their partners have to satisfy proposed criteria as the check list is a part of an agreement. It helps creating positive image. It is a good sign that hotels in Dubrovnik realize significant share of their sale using Tour operators' service. This standard can be an important element in increasing competition.

4. THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISAM ACOOMODATION FACILITIES IN DUBROVNIK

Taking into consideration the quality of existing tourism offer for the responsible development of a higher quality tourism supply, the following steps are necessary:

1. Harmonizing the future construction of the accommodation facilities with special carrying capacity.

2. Stricter protection of the resources and environment from the devastation.

3. Rising quality of tourism accommodation facilities.

4. Tourism development must be based on the principles of the responsible development. Due to all this we suggest following actions in the future:

1. Cooperation with all partners including that with the government.

2. Strategic environmental planning of tourism, supported by laws relating to land use and environmental impact assessment.

3. Train and develop staff for higher quality customer service.

4. Develop a sustainability awareness program and training.

5. Develop staff and management understanding of environmental programs.

6. Educational talks with quests.

7. Providing sustainable products-using organic ingredients.

8. Supporting local products-menus in hotel restaurants, artwork in hotels can be made by original regional artists.

9. Forming partnerships-involvement with local groups is an important step in achieving environmental goals.

10. Develop and raise awareness among all stakeholders about the importance of environmentally sustainable approach.

11. Authentic building practices.

12. Implementation of International Standard ISO 14001, especially in hotels.

5. CONCLUSION

The development of the entire economy must be conceived, coordinated and realized in such a manner that priority industries can come into their own thus becoming the generators of the total development. In such an economic milieu tourism should have a highly significant development role. Problems of tourism development connected with the responsible development should be considered and analyzed before the new goals of tourism policy are defined so as to avoid possible undesirable consequences in the future development of tourism.

6. REFERENNCES

Dulcic, A. & Petric, L. (2001). Upravljanje razvojem turizma, Managing the tourism development, Mate, ISBN 953 6070 77 4, Zagreb

HR Survey (2006). Croatian Quality Assocciation Report, Zagreb

Promet turista u primorskim opcinama--Tourism arrivals in coastal regions from 1989 to 2006, Statistical reports, Drzavni zavod za statistiku, Zagreb

Urbonavicius, S., (2005). ISO system implementation in small and medium companies from new EU member countries: A tool of managerial and marketing benefits development, In: Research in International Business and Finance, No., 19., pp. 412-426

Vrtiprah, V. & Pavlic, I. (2005). Menadzerska ekonomija u hotelijerstvu--Managing economy in hospitality industry, University of Dubrovnik, ISBN 953 7153 06 1, Dubrovnik

Font, X., (2002). Environmental certification in tourism and hospitality: progress, process and prospects, In: Tourism Management, Vol., 23., No., 3., pp. 198