The paper presents the local blue water footprint of tourism on the islands of Cres and Lošinj (Northern Adriatic, Croatia). The paper contains a case study of the specific environmental impact caused by exploitation of Lake Vrana to...

In addition to its positive socioeconomic impact, tourism also has some negative effects on the environment, particularly through carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Although the impact of tourism on the environment is visible, many of the cause–effect relationships have not yet been adequately explored. In order to determine individual factors regarding the temporal variation in the carbon footprint of a major road infrastructure facility (the Učka Tunnel, Croatia), a regression analysis was conducted. The study analyzes the carbon footprint of the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods and uses factors at the national and regional levels influencing the region of Istria County, as representative of the developed tourism regions in the Mediterranean. The results of the research provide theoretical insight into the sustainability and cause–effect relationships between the economic and social factors of road transport in tourism-developed destinations, with characteristic seasonality. At the application level, the research results can be used to predict the temporal variations in the environmental impacts of road infrastructure, as well as economic parameters that can be used in the prediction process and crisis management models of major road facilities.

Purpose – Contemporary tourism in many developed destinations relies on natural resources, many of which can be directly valorised as tourist attractions. Within natural resources, geoheritage (geological heritage) consists sites or areas of geological features with significant scientific, educational, cultural or aesthetic value. Despite its multiple values, the attractive geosites and their valorisation in tourism are still insufficiently covered. Methodology – This paper, aims to present the state of the art in a form of a research overview of geoheritage valorisation in tourism by analysing the WoSCC database. The results of overviewing 171 scientific papers on keywords geoheritage and tourism are presented and interpreted in the form of qualitative and quantitative analysis, maps, tabular and graphical representations. To identify the main research links and streams between geoheritage and tourism the bibliometric analysis is carried out using VOSviewer software. Findings – The papers are classified and it is revealed an insufficient representation of research in the field of tourist valorisation of geoheritage. It is also notable the spatial inhomogeneity towards interest in geoheritage research. Contribution – The paper brings a research agenda for covering gaps in the further scientific research of the field. The research also points out some possible streams and framework for future geoheritage research that offers new opportunities for the growth of tourism as a responsible and sustainable industry.

Based on the analysis of water supply, tourist traffic and climatic parameters, the paper assessed the sustainability and possibilities of adapting the water supply system in the future, considering the simultaneity of the peak loads on the water supply system with dry periods in the warm part of the year. The research covers islands from the northern and middle part of the Adriatic Sea (Croatia), which represent examples of islands with Cfa and Csa climates with significant differences in resource reliance on the island and coastal water resources. Given that previous climatological research indicates an increase in spring and summer temperatures on the Croatian coast, as well as spatial and seasonal changes in the amount of precipitation with a decrease during the summer months, the paper describes the possibilities of adapting current and alternative sources of water supply systems on the islands.

Travelling to and from destinations to reach the sporting event venue usually generates carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. CO2 emissions are one of the largest contributors to greenhouse effects and contemporary global warming. Complete elimination of CO2 emissions from travelling is hardly possible, but the question is what sports event organizers can do to reduce those emissions. Based on the case of the Ultra-Trail World Tour event 100 Miles of Istria 2021, Croatia, this chapter refers to Sustainable Developments Goals 12 and 13, aiming to enhance awareness and encourage environmental measures. More precisely, this chapter discusses how to find the optimal balance between the interest of event organizers who want their events to be internationally attractive and the environmental concerns regarding CO2 emissions. The carbon footprint (CF) method is applied to convert event participants’ travel-related data into specific CO2 emission values. Using ArcGIS Map tools for analysing and mapping the CF of participants, this chapter divides the gravity zone of the event into geographical “buffer zones” of different footprints. Depending on the participants’ means of transport and travel style, some practical recommendations to event organizers and policymakers are proposed. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->